Official Transcripts
Press Roundtable by U.S. National Security Advisor Stephen Hadley
Moscow, Russia
February 22, 2007
NSA HADLEY: This visit is part of a series of consultations that goes back for several years, actually. I am here principally to see Igor Ivanov, my counterpart. This is an ongoing consultation in which sometimes the Russian side comes to Washington and we sometimes come to Moscow. It is an opportunity to review the issues of the day. I am also looking forward to some meetings with other officials, and I am grateful that they made themselves available. These meetings were scheduled several weeks ago, three or four weeks ago, and have been something I wanted to do for a while. And now, in view of President Putin's comments in Munich, some people may wonder whether this trip is in response to those comments. It is not. It was scheduled before those comments were made.
The U.S. – Russia relationship is a relationship that has many aspects to it. We cooperate on a wide range of issues. There are obviously areas where we and Russia have disagreements and where there are obviously, from time to time, frustrations in the relationship on both sides. This is very, very normal for relationships between powerful countries. We do not read President Putin's comments the way some have suggested, as an invitation to confrontation. We do not think they were intended that way, and we do not read them that way. And the reason I say that is because, in some sense, of the meeting I had this morning and the meetings I will have this afternoon. The United States and Russia have a broad and deep agenda, and issues on which we cooperate. And there is an opportunity to dramatically increase the (inaudible) between our two countries, as evidenced by the WTO process, of course, by the recently concluded bilateral WTO agreements between the United States and Russia. This is a perfect opportunity for both countries.
Energy cooperation is another field where there is great potential for U.S. – Russia relations, and it is also an area where the U.S. and Russia have common interests. We have technologies we can share and can provide leadership in the international community. We have cooperated in the nonproliferation of weapons of mass destruction, and have had good cooperation on North Korea and good cooperation on Iran. Secretary of State Rice and Foreign Minister Lavrov met yesterday with representatives of United Nations and European Union to talk about Middle East peace in the Quartet process. My point is that there are some important issues where Russia and the United States share common interests and it is in the interests of both Russia and the United States to work together. These meetings I am having today are part of the process by which both countries work together to pursue these issues in a way that serves the interests of both countries and can advance our important agenda on the global stage.
NOVAYA GAZETA: As a very high official in the United States Government and as a person who deals with very sensitive issues of national security, what is your relationship with or view of the press?
NSA HADLEY: The press is an integral part of democratic society. To be effective, the press needs to be able to pose questions to the government and get answers from the government. That is not always a comfortable process for the government. Sometimes it seems to be an adversarial relationship between the government and the press. But we believe that a free press is an integral element of democracy. It is a source of information for the government and a source of accountability to the government. I'll give you one example: the Washington Post ran a two-day series over the weekend on the condition of outpatient treatment at Walter Reed hospital. This is the army medical hospital in Washington. I was pleased to see that Defense Secretary Gates, the Department of Army, and staff at Walter Reed have responded very promptly to address the problems raised in the articles. One of the military officials said "You know I should not have found out about this from the press but I am glad I did." That's the process it seems to me one where the government and press working in the way that they should. The press brings the attention of the public to an issue and the government has the opportunity to respond.
INTERFAX: On the subject of placing elements of the ABM system in Eastern Europe: some Russian officials are saying that Russia will have to place medium range missile systems in response and other Russian officials are claiming that this missile defense system in Europe is not a threat. What is your view? How closely does the U.S. intend to cooperate with Russia on this issue? How do you respond to the assertions from the Russian leadership that this system will be useless against missiles from Iran or those launched by terrorists?
NSA HADLEY: The missile defense system we are developing is a very limited system in its capabilities and its size. It is not directed in any way against Russia. It is directed at certain countries that are developing ballistic missiles and have shown a desire to pursue nuclear weapons to go with those missiles, primarily North Korea and Iran. The first phase of this was deployed in Alaska and directed at North Korea, and was activated during the period of the North Korean missile test last year that was covered widely in the press. That was a problem that we could address with a system based strictly on U.S. territory. Because of geography and physics, it is harder to do that job against a potential Iranian threat exclusively from U.S. territory which is why we have considered and we have under consideration deploying additional elements of this very limited system in Europe both to provide additional protection to the United States, but also to provide protection to Europe which also faces potential threat from Iran. We have briefed Russian officials at various times at various levels, and we have tried to assure them that the system is not directed at Russia, is a system of limited capability, and it poses no threat to the Russian strategic deterrent. Obviously, some Russians continue to have questions about the system and we will continue to try to answer these questions.
NOVAYA GAZETA: What do you make of the statement by former Minister of Defense Sergey Ivanov – he's now the First Deputy Prime Minister – that Russia may start looking at the possibility of withdrawing from the INF Treaty? Do you think it's a serious statement? Or is it intended to begin the negotiating process?
NSA HADLEY: Mr. Ivanov is a very serious man and he has a serious position in the Russian government, and as a result we take all his comments seriously. That agreement arose at a time when Europe was very concerned about deployment of Soviet SS-20s and other missiles that threatened Europe, and it was while it is an agreement between the United States and then the Soviet Union, now Russia, while it formally concerns those parties, it was obviously something that Europe was very interested in and felt contributed to its security. This is an issue for discussion between the United States and Russia, but also an issue for Russia to talk with Europe about. I do not see, just speaking personally, why withdrawal from the INF Treaty would to be a response warranted by the deployment of the kind of very limited ballistic missile capability we're talking about in Europe. This capability does not threaten Russia and is not aimed against Russian systems.
KOMMERSANT: It is no secret that in some American political circles China is often regarded as a foe, a threat to U.S. interests in the world. What are the main differences between Republicans' and Democrats' views on this subject? Which party do you belong to?
NSA HADLEY: I am a member of the Republican Party, and I serve a Republican President in a Republican Administration. Therefore I'm disabled from explaining anything on behalf of the Democratic Party, and they certainly would not want me to do so. China is a country that is emerging as a major player on the international scene in almost every dimension. It is one of the major trading partners of the United States as it is the major trading partner of many other countries. What we are trying to do is to ensure that China emerges as a very responsible player on the international scene and can be a responsible partner for the United States, Russia, and other countries in dealing with the substantial challenges we face, whether it is in terms of security challenges, whether in terms of energy challenges, whether it is environmental challenges. In addition to these issues, we have concerns about China, the issue of human rights, religious freedom, and other things, but U.S. - China relations are characterized by an increasing pattern of cooperation and partnership.
INTERFAX: There is information that Ukraine is very interested in having elements of the U.S. anti-ballistic missile system located in Ukraine, and I wonder if you could tell us what stage the discussions are at and would Ukraine have to be a member of NATO in order to have these elements placed on its territory?
NSA HADLEY: I'm working in the White House and not the Department of Defense, and it is the Department of Defense that is most actively engaged in the issue of development of missile defense systems. I have not heard of any particular Ukrainian interest or substantive conversations about Ukrainian involvement in this issue. The discussion has been focused on the countries that have been talked about publicly: Poland, the Czech Republic, and to some extent the United Kingdom which has a radar that would be a part of the system.
ITAR-TASS: What is the perspective for the six-party process, and how do the United States and Russia cooperate within that framework?
NSA HADLEY: U.S. - Russia cooperation has been good. The cooperation among the five has been good, and it's one of the reasons we had the initial progress we keep seeing. In terms of next steps, as you know, the recently concluded agreement calls on the North Korean government to take some steps within sixty days in terms of stopping operations and sealing certain facilities, bringing in and letting IAEA return inspectors, and providing lists of its nuclear facilities. If it does so, there are certain benefits that accrue to North Korea. The real question and what we are all hoping to see is that North Korea begins the performance that it is undertaking, and does so within the sixty day period. And that will put us in a position then to implement the agreement that was reached last week and also move in to take further steps to implement what is really the basic document here, the September 19, 2005 agreement. So this agreement was a step to begin implementation of that broader agreement. And we will hopefully see some action from North Korea in the next sixty days.
NOVAYA GAZETA: Getting back to the Munich statement by President Putin: quite a few observers in the United States, Russia and Europe said that the period of our partnership has ended and new era has begun, hastened by a war of words. Very critical articles have been written both in Russian and American press about the issue, claiming that it's the end of the partnership. What do you think?
NSA HADLEY: President Bush does not see it that way, and I don't think President Putin sees it that way. As I said in my earlier comments, this is a complicated relationship between the United States and Russia. There are obviously areas on which we disagree, there are obviously frustrations that have built up on both sides, concerns that the Russian government has about U.S. policies, and concerns the U.S. has about Russian policies. You expect that in a complicated relationship. But the fact remains that underpinning this relationship is a series of interests that we have in common, and issues which are important to both countries on which we have been able to work together. The emphasis for President Putin and President Bush is to try and be candid and transparent about areas of disagreement but to try and be aggressive at identifying areas where we have common interests and where we can work together to advance the interests of both countries. Cooperation in these areas is not a favor the United States is doing for Russia, and it's not a favor Russia is doing for the United States. These are areas where Russian and American interests can merge, and where it makes sense for the two countries to work together. This is what President Putin and President Bush have tried to do to identify these areas. I gave a description of what a number of them were at the beginning, and I think as long as these two men remain in office, that's what they will try to do. Obviously, in both countries, we are heading into an interesting political climate. There will be elections for the new Russian president, there will be elections for the new American president. One of the tasks, I think, both of our governments face in these political periods is to keep people focused on those areas of common interest where we can work together. And I think this is what President Putin and President Bush will try to do.
NOVAYA GAZETA: Are the common interests Iran, North Korea, and terrorism?
NSA HADLEY: We've talked about them. They are working together on expanding trade, energy cooperation where both countries have technology to provide, nonproliferation and other issues. Look, I don't want to be misunderstood: President Putin was very clear in Munich that he has some complaints and objections about aspects of our policy. Some of those objections and complaints are well-founded. We have talked about the concerns we have about democracy, press freedom and the like. We believe some of our concerns are also justified, and we continue to raise -- in a fairly candid way -- concerns we have about each other's policies. But my point is there are common interests, and it's been the focus of both presidents to try to mobilize our two nations to work together on areas of common interest for the advance of the interests of both countries and also for the broader international community.
Thank you.