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Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation
Department of Information and Press
121200, Moscow G-200, Smolenskaya Sennaya Pl., 32/34
Tel.: (095) 244-4119, Fax: 244-4112
e-mail: dip@mid.ru, web-address: www.mid.ru
Daily News Bulletin
16.06.2003
Unofficial translation from Russian
Transcript of Russian Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Aleksandr Losyukov Remarks at a Briefing on the Visit of Minister of Foreign Affairs of Russia Igor Ivanov to Pakistan (June 15) and India (June 16) and on Russian Participation in the ASEAN Regional Forum (Phom Penh, June 17-19), Moscow, June 2003
1397-13-06-2003
I am ready to say a few words about the upcoming visit of Russian Minister of Foreign Affairs Igor Ivanov to Pakistan and India and about Russian participation in the ASEAN Regional Forum. I will be ready to answer questions of interest to you.
I would like to begin with the trip of the Minister to Pakistan and India, working visits that have been planned for a long time.
We have many questions to discuss with our Pakistani colleagues. There has not been a full-scale visit by a Russian Foreign Minister to Pakistan for ten years. Andrei Kozyrev last paid a visit to Pakistan. Evgenii Primakov made a brief stopover in Islamabad on his way from Southeast Asia, but full-scale talks were not conducted then. The necessity to discuss a number of international problems and questions of bilateral relations has long since ripened, it is a logical result of the contacts at the highest level with the leadership of Pakistan that took place in the last few years. I would like to recall that last year in Almaty Russian President Vladimir Putin had a meeting with General Pervez Musharraf, the President of Pakistan. This February the President of Pakistan paid an official visit to Russia. Thus, we have re-established a dialogue with Pakistan. The present visit of the Minister is a continuation of those official contacts.
I must say that we do have something to discuss with Pakistan. We are disturbed by the situation evolving in the region and by the contradictions present in relations between India and Pakistan. We have been closely watching this situation. We would like to understand better the roots of the problems existing in the region, state our opinion and call upon both parties to exercise restraint and search for ways leading to a solution of these complicated questions by negotiations. That aim is being set in the course of the visit of the Minister of Foreign Affairs to Pakistan and India.
In the course of the talks in Pakistan, evidently, the theme of Afghanistan will be raised. Pakistan has been involved for a long time and deeply in the Afghan situation. We, for our part, are paying much attention to the situation in Afghanistan and the processes occurring there. We made a significant contribution both to the creation of problems in the country and to the attempts at a way out of the grave state of affairs. Therefore the situation evolving in Afghan-Pakistani relations, and the questions arising in respect of the Pakistani policy in Afghanistan, are very important, and we are going to discuss them in the course of the visit.
A serious topic of the talks of course will be the fight against terrorism. It is no secret to anyone that radical Islamic organizations are active in Pakistan; this reflects on both the Afghan situation and Indo-Pakistani relations. A topic that worries us too because, unfortunately, the activity of these organizations is being felt on Russian territory as well. Everybody knows, for example, the recent case of the exposure of an extremist network that had been operating in Russia. It is known that militants operating within Chechnya underwent training in the past in camps in Pakistani territories on the border with Afghanistan. This situation continues to be a matter of our concern.
We take a keen interest in developing full-fledged relations with Pakistan, including in the trade-and-economic field. The prospects for the growth of such cooperation exist. The Pakistani side likewise takes a keen interest in this, and it is therefore necessary to exert efforts towards growth in this area of cooperation. This will help also the solution of the problems of a political nature and will eliminate certain roughnesses in bilateral relations. This topic will also be discussed with the Pakistani leadership.
It is necessary to say that apart from the negative moments which worry us, there also exists the base for our cooperation with Pakistan on the international scene. There should be noted the participation of Pakistan in the antiterrorist operation in Afghanistan and the measures which the Musharraf administration has been taking to neutralize the activities of militant Islamists. We understand that the Pakistani leadership is in a not easy situation: it has in a certain sense to maneuver. In these circumstances we count on more drastic measures by the Pakistani administration, on consistently meeting by Islamabad all the commitments assumed regarding the fight against terrorism and religious extremism. I would like to draw attention to the fact that Pakistan held the Presidency of the United Nations Security Council until June 1 and has been elected a nonpermanent member of the Council for a period of two years. In this context we have a base for joint work, and we count on such cooperation.
In Islamabad the Russian Minister of Foreign Affairs is scheduled to meet with the President of Pakistan and the Prime Minister, as well as to hold talks with the Minister of Foreign Affairs.
As to the visit of Russian Minister of Foreign Affairs Igor Ivanov to India, it is one more link in a chain of permanent bilateral contacts. Only recently, the Indian Minister of External Affairs, Yashwant Sinha, visited Moscow. He had talks with the Russian Minister of Foreign Affairs. In the course of Ivanov's visit he is scheduled to meet with the President of India, the Prime Minister and some Cabinet members and to hold full-scale talks with Sinha.
There is no need to speak of the value to Russia of the strategic partnership with India. We have established serious cooperation of particular significance in today's complicated situation, when the character of the threats to international, regional and national security is changing. Under these conditions a regular coordination of positions, the elaboration of joint measures is an important aspect of bilateral relations.
In the course of the talks, apart from international problems, a discussion of Russian-Indian cooperation will take place. In December 2002 Russian President Vladimir Putin visited India. Work on the implementation of the accords then reached is going on actively. In the course of the meetings in India certain results of this work will be discussed and further steps for the strengthening of bilateral cooperation will be outlined.
Serious questions face us with respect to our trade-and-economic partnership. We are gradually moving away from work on the basis of payments which India has made and continues to make to Russia in terms of covering the debt. We are planning to change the structure of our work in the economic field and search for ways to increase the volume of trade and improve its commodity structure. In the first place, we take a keen interest in raising the share of high technology, science-intensive products in the trade turnover. It is no secret that the trade in military equipment is being effected between our countries. Here high technology and science-intensive products feature significantly. We now face the task of extending this to the domain of civilian trade as well. It is necessary to engage in production cooperation and seek to strengthen the contacts between small and medium-sized business.
I would like to note the tangible strengthening of our contacts with India in the political field in terms of joint actions with respect to the maintenance of security and in the strategic domain. The large-scale naval exercises of the Russian Navy and Indian naval forces, conducted for the first time in history, concluded recently. That made for a new stage in the consolidation of contacts in terms of the strategic partnership. India, like Russia, is an ASEAN dialogue partner. Ahead of the ASEAN forum in Phnom Penh we will be interested in comparing our positions towards this group of states.
It is proposed to pay attention to developing the Russian-Indo-Chinese dialogue. The dialogue is being conducted. Meetings of the ministers of foreign affairs are being held, and there is going the three-way talk between scientific and diplomatic experts. The cooperation between Russia, India and China, based on a considerable identity of our positions with regard to the acute problems of our time, serves as a good basis for continuing that discussion and taking it to a higher level.
I think that in the course of the talks in Pakistan and India the situation on the Korean peninsula may also be touched upon. One more likely subject for discussion with the Indian partners is Afghanistan because India is also interested in the peaceful reconstruction of that country. Likewise, the problem of Middle East settlement will be raised in the course of the visits.
We presume that the visit to New Delhi will constitute one more important step in terms of the consolidation of our strategic partnership.
As to the participation of the Minister in the talks to be held in the course of the Tenth Session of the ARF, we understand that considerable attention will be devoted to the issues of combating the new challenges - terrorism, drugs production and transportation, and criminal activities. These topics in serious measure worry our partners from the ASEAN countries. We are ready for serious, practical work together with them in dealing with these phenomena.
Could you comment on the statements made by high-ranking US officials to the effect that Russia will have no voice in discussing the situation on the Korean peninsula. What is the position of Russia in this connection?
I suspect that the question has been prompted by today's publication in the newspaper Kommersant. I've read this article. First of all, no matters relating to the Korean situation can be solved without taking into account the interests or without the participation of Russia. This must be clear. Around the Korean question, complex multipass game is going on. It is a dangerous situation, because adverse consequences may arise. No easy solutions are visible. The situation tends to worsen, its specifics lie also in the fact that one way or another the involved countries are interested in resolving the situation by peaceful means and have a common perception of the aim of the negotiations. They are setting the task of achieving a demilitarization of the Korean peninsula. In this sense our positions absolutely coincide. This needs to be clearly perceived. If the aims are shared, then the question arises of just how to attain them. There are some nuances here. Although even in this regard the positions of most countries are about the same: it is necessary to strive for the aims by peaceful means, to explore the possibilities of getting the participants of the negotiations interested in achieving that result. There are problems here. The DPRK is interested in preserving the current regime and in providing guarantees of its security, and will be trying to get this, apparently, by any means, although this does not suit the other participants in the talks. We advocate that negotiations should be conducted. In terms of their format, if there is the possibility of achieving the common objective of demilitarizing the peninsula then any format is acceptable. Therefore we support the efforts made by the PRC, which organized the three-sided negotiations on the Korean problem. Russia continues to support this format. If there is a possibility to continue the talks in the three-sided format with the participation of the United States and the DPRK then this would be a good development of events. If the number of participants in the negotiations increases then a variety of options is possible. The format will ultimately depend on the US and the DPRK. In the final analysis this is going to be approved by the two participants.
Speculation that somebody is "pushing us aside" from the negotiations, means simply ignorance of the work that is going on and in which Russia is actively participating. We are maintaining contacts with the North Korean leadership. A discussion is going on both with the United States and with Japan and with the DPRK and with the PRC, of which my meeting today with the Chinese ambassador is evidence. With the PRC our positions on this problem practically fully coincide. This was stated, inter alia, during the recent visit here of the President of the PRC and his conversations with the President of Russia.
There is a considerable similarity of the United States' and our positions with regard to the ultimate goals of settlement. This was noted during President Putin's meetings with US President George W. Bush in St. Petersburg. The United States and we have certain nuances in the approaches. We would deem that it should be necessary to more actively get down to negotiations and in the end arrive at the provision of security guarantees for the DPRK in exchange for its controlled and clearly definite abandonment of the nuclear program. There are intermediate nuances in the position of the ROK and Japan, although with them we hold similar positions. How the negotiations will continue is unknown. Even if they begin, I think that this will only be an approach to discussion, not arrival at a solution. It is clear the DPRK will be carrying out its promises, which are given in its statements, in order to ensure national security. This may create a dangerous situation. Big work lies ahead. To speak of the format is too early.
To solve the problems without considering our interests is simply impossible. For example, today's statement of White House press secretary Ari Fleischer reads: "The US is interested in the involvement of Russia in resolving the situation around the DPRK nuclear program. We always spoke of this involvement." The same was said to us also in the course of our official contacts with US representatives.
Will the problem of the Pakistani-North Korean relationship in the missile-nuclear sphere be discussed in the course of Igor Ivanov's talks in Islamabad?
I think that this question may be touched upon. We know the official position of the Pakistani leadership on this problem. We have discussed this topic with North Korean representatives as well. Both deny any contacts in this area. Even if the question is touched on, evidently that position will be reconfirmed.
Will the Korean question be discussed in the course of the ASEAN meetings?
An initiative was shown on the part of ASEAN. At a stage of the preparation of these events the idea was put forward of organizing a meeting of the directly concerned countries with the representatives of the DPRK. As far as we understand, this proposal will not be realized in view of the North Korean representatives' position. I know that the Korean delegation will be headed by a Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, and that meetings with the US representative are not being planned. Thus, the initiative apparently will not receive development. ASEAN is, of course, interested in responding to this situation. In the statement of the ARF chairman, mention of the Korean situation may be made. But this will not be a common resolution. The chairman will sum up the discussions which, on this subject, are likely in the course of the meeting of the ARF.
Pakistan is being accused of nuclear collaboration with Iran. Russia in a sense as well. Will this topic be touched upon during Ivanov's visit?
I do not think this topic is likely to be touched on. There are no good reason to speak of Iran's contacts with Pakistan in this field. Rather, it's speculation only. There are no real data. Should the topic arise on the Pakistani side, we shall be ready to explain our position on the Iranian nuclear program, but I do not think that the Pakistanis are going to raise this matter.
In New Delhi, evidently, the questions will be raised connected with Iraq and Iran. In what do you see the identity of positions between Moscow and New Delhi on these questions? What may our cooperation consist of in these fields?
We have repeatedly discussed the topic of Iraq with the Indian side. It is necessary to say that our approaches towards the Iraq problem are close. India, like us, was worried not so much by the situation with the regime in Iraq as by the likely consequences of the actions of the coalition in Iraq for international relations in the long term. Like we, India supports a more active role of the United Nations in Iraqi settlement. Here the identity of our positions is obvious.
The situation with regard to Iran is somewhat different. We are members of the nonproliferation regime and active participants in it within the IAEA framework.
Now the IAEA is preparing a report on the Iran. We await its results, whereupon we shall state our position. India is not a member of the nonproliferation regime. In this sense it has a slightly different position. I think that the Iranian subject may arise in New Delhi. We shall state our position and we hope that the Indian position will also be specified. On Iraq we have a clearer perception of joint approaches.
A meeting took place recently between the Japanese Prime Minister and the President of Russia. What is your assessment of this meeting? During the visit of Hu Jintao, the signing took place of an agreement between the Chinese oil company and Yukos. What significance does the signing of this agreement have?
Indeed, the Japanese Prime Minister met with the President of Russia in St. Petersburg. The meeting passed in a friendly spirit. The leaders had an interesting conversation, which the Japanese side, as we know, highly appreciates. I would not like to touch on the contents of the talk. The conversation attests to the striving of the sides to seriously approach the implementation of the plan of action which previously was approved and signed. It provides for the development of relations in an extensive range of areas, including the continuation of negotiations on a peace treaty. On our part during the meeting in St. Petersburg a serious readiness was expressed to follow this path, to implement the provisions of this plan and to exert efforts for the search of a solution to the problems, including the problem of a peace treaty. Dialogue on all the issues will be maintained. This intention was reiterated in the course of the meeting of our leaders.
With regard to the oil pipeline. The signing of the framework agreement between the China National Petroleum Corporation and the Yukos company is one of intentions to build an oil line. Some questions concerning the volume of supplies and prices were fixed. The negotiations on this issue had been conducted for a long time. The signing of this agreement provides the basis for the negotiations that took place. This does not mean the beginning of concrete work, as it must be carried out on the basis of a government decision. The decision has not yet been taken. This is a serious step. Obviously, a decision of the government will follow in the near future. Only after this will it be possible to speak of a real implementation of the agreement reached. It was rather a decision on intentions between the two companies, not at a governmental level.
Pakistan before the Iraq war and after - is it the same thing? Or a coup might occur, as it did in Mauritius?
We do not expect a coup in Pakistan. We consider that it is a stable situation there, even though very complicated.
You said Pervez Musharraf is in a difficult position, and that he has to maneuver. On the other hand, we expect from him more vigorous actions to carry out his pledges of combating terrorism. In what do we see the moves of Pakistan, what can it undertake in this regard?
In our official statements and in the course of conversations with the Pakistani and Indian representatives we clearly underline our position to the effect that cross-border terrorism across the Line of Control should be stopped. In this sense both Russia and other countries expect more vigorous actions from Pakistan. We believe putting an end to those crossings and activities of terrorists across the Line of Control is a basis for further advancement towards the easing of tension between India and Pakistan. We welcome that progress. The Indian and Pakistani sides have declared their resolve to follow the path of establishing more active contacts and fostering communication between the countries. An exchange of ambassadors has taken place. This is a positive development. It is hard to say that these developments will lead to a settlement of all the problems, it is hard to try to act as mediators between India and Pakistan, as not all in these countries welcome this mediation. Those who try to push India and Pakistan towards cooperation find themselves in a difficult position. But the support of the processes is simply indispensable. I feel that both Indian and Pakistani leaders should understand that the international community is in favor of their bringing their positions closer together and exerting efforts to do away with the problems which exist in their relations. We are going to state this position. We feel that this is necessary.
June 14, 2003
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