Russia Joins Bush's Drive Against WMD
May 31, 1:07 PM (ET)
By Oleg Shchedrov
MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russia cast aside its doubts Monday to join a U.S.-led
alliance of countries prepared to board ships and raid suspect factories in a
crackdown against weapons of mass destruction.
Moscow said it had become the 15th core member of President Bush's
Proliferation Security Initiative (PSI), designed to stop such arms ending up
in states viewed with distrust by Washington, such as North Korea and Iran.
"The threat of proliferation of weapons of mass destruction is global and
accordingly requires a global response," the Foreign Ministry said in a
statement. "We are sure that we can cope with the problem only through a
collective effort."
Russia, which basically supports stopping any illegal trade in nuclear,
chemical and biological weapons-related materials and missiles, initially had
strong reservations about Bush's initiative, put forward a year ago.
Russian experts expressed fears a right to intercept suspicious vessels could
give a legal role of global policeman to the United States, which has the
strongest naval presence across the world.
Another concern was the PSI could be used to hamper Russia's commercial
interests because it trades with many countries at odds with Washington, such
as Iran or Syria.
Russia announced its decision a week before a summit of the Group of Eight
major industrial nations at Sea Island, Georgia, where the PSI is going to be
high on the agenda. Russia was the last G8 member to join the initiative.
U.S. officials have said Russia joining the PSI would have extra political
importance because it could inspire another major power, China, to become a
core member.
Russian officials had said after talks with U.S. Undersecretary of State John
Bolton in Moscow earlier this month that Russia still had some unanswered
questions.
The Foreign Ministry said Russia would contribute to the PSI as long as its
actions did not violate international law or its own legislation.
"We view the PSI as a supplement rather than replacement to the existing
nonproliferation mechanisms," the ministry said.
"We assume that actions within this initiative should not and will not create
obstacles to legal economic, scientific and technical cooperation."
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| User: "Leigh_Bee" |
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| Title: Re: Russia Joins Bush's Drive Against WMD |
01 Jun 2004 06:10:58 PM |
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(TonyZ2001) wrote in message news:<20040601052255.28253.00000149@mb-m22.aol.com>...
Russia Joins Bush's Drive Against WMD
May 31, 1:07 PM (ET)
By Oleg Shchedrov
MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russia cast aside its doubts Monday to join a U.S.-led
alliance of countries prepared to board ships and raid suspect factories in a
crackdown against weapons of mass destruction.
Moscow said it had become the 15th core member of President Bush's
Proliferation Security Initiative (PSI), designed to stop such arms ending up
in states viewed with distrust by Washington, such as North Korea and Iran.
SNIP
Isn't it a bit late? the horse has bolted, it is just a case of
ambulance chasing now.
love the shifting alliances,
But whatever it takes!
LB
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| User: "MaxBlast36" |
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| Title: Re: Russia Joins Bush's Drive Against WMD |
01 Jun 2004 02:23:57 PM |
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Tony Posted:
"The threat of proliferation of weapons of mass destruction is global and
accordingly requires a global response," the Foreign Ministry said in a
statement. "We are sure that we can cope with the problem only through a
collective effort."
MaxBlast Wrote:
Pay Attn: This is more news that can't be ignored during these times!!!
Brother Jon
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