Bush-Putin Summit: Good Feelings, Modest Achievements
Nov 15, 2001
For immediate release: November 15, 2001
Contacts: John Isaacs 202 543-4100 x.131; Chris Madison 202 543-4100 x.135; Luke Warren 202 543-4100 x.127
Council for a Livable World welcomed the just-concluded summit meeting of Presidents Bush and Putin, but questioned the results.
“The good news is that U.S.-Russian relations have improved, and that both governments are committed to deep cuts in their offensive nuclear weapons,” said the Council’s president John Isaacs.
“However, while the personal chemistry between the two leaders is excellent, they failed to make hard decisions on the details of their plans,” Isaacs continued.
The two leaders agreed on a rough level of cuts in strategic nuclear weapons, but failed to agree on the details and failed to come to a compromise on the 1972 Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty.
“We are disappointed, because the pre-summit spin from both governments suggested that more substance would be produced to accompany the good feelings,” stated Chris Madison, head of the Missile Defense project.
“How are those deep cuts in nuclear weapons going to be carried out, how will they be verified, how will the retired weapons and nuclear materials be disposed of,” continued Madison. “And what happened to the tacit agreement on the ABM Treaty?”
“This Administration has forgotten the old Ronald Reagan maxim, ‘trust but verify,’” Isaacs argued. “It will need to be persuaded to resurrect that principle.”
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