Russia, US should fill rest process with content - Margelov

WASHINGTON, April 30 (Itar-Tass) -- Russia and the United States must
fill the process of relations resetting with meaningful content and to go
beyond the bounds of traditional topics in the bilateral dialogue, the
chairman of the Federation Council's international affairs committee,
Mikhail Margelov told the media after his meetings with US Administration
officials.
"It is clear that on START and ABM there has been progress," he said,
replying to an Itar-Tass question. "It is necessary to shape a positive
agenda in the bilateral relationship, which would give us something
different from our cooperation in the years of detente. Because
cooperating all the time on three fronts - the reduction of strategic
offensive arms, the Middle East and new threats and challenges - is simply
no longer possible. Just as it is impossible to reset our bilateral
relations every 4 or 8 years." As Margelov said, it is time to move on to
a pragmatic and predictable partnership."
Disarmament subjects, in particular, were discussed at Margelov's
meeting with Deputy Secretary of State for Arms Control and International
Security Ellen Tauscher, and Assistant Secretary of State for Arms
Control, Verification and Compliance Rose Gottemoeller. The Obama
Administration has signaled that it wants to enter into negotiations with
Russia in the coming months on a reduction of tactical nuclear weapons
(TNW).
"Our reaction to the prospects for a discussion of tactical nuclear
weapons is restrained and cautious, to put it mildly," said the Russian
parliamentarian. "If I propose a debate on this issue in my committee for
international affairs, or, say, in the committee on defense and security,
I do not think that you will find at least two ardent supporters of
dropping tactical nuclear weapons on our side."
As for ABM defense, according to Margelov, the Americans imagine
cooperation in this area "as some joint project of Russia, NATO and the
United States."
"They claim that the threat today comes not from Russia, but from the
south, referring to Iran and other unstable countries," he said. "I, in
turn, constantly raised the issue of Pakistan, about how certain our
American partners are that nuclear weapons there are well under control
and will not fall into the hands of terrorists. I heard assurances that
there is absolute control."
Although American officials "get back in this or that way to the
subject of further reductions in nuclear weapons," Margelov said that
currently "all are aimed at preparing for the meeting of presidents
Medvedev and Obama in Deauville," which, as many hope, will give a new
impetus to relations between the U.S. and Russia.