Room for Cooperation with Russia

Statement

ROOM FOR COOPERATION WITH RUSSIA

No one wants to see a revival of the Cold War with Russia and the best way to avoid that is to clear the air by communicating with their leaders on a variety of topics.

As Co-Chair of the U.S. - Russia inter-parliamentary working group, I recently lead a bi-partisan delegation to Russia where we held three days of meetings in Moscow with legislators and top Russian officials, including Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, to discuss our mutual economic and security interests.

To be sure, there are currently areas of disagreement between the U.S. and Russia. First, Russia questions our intent to deploy missile defense infrastructure in Eastern Europe. Second, they would prefer an extended timetable on independence for Kosovo. On the first issue, I believe there is some residue of Cold War thinking in the Russian reaction.

The system is purely defensive and would be of no use against an attack by Russia. It is geared toward countering any missile threat from Iran and other rogue nations. We communicated that during our meetings, but this is probably a case where that information should have been communicated to them earlier.

Despite these disagreements, there is room for cooperation. Russia is a growing economy and a powerful force on the world stage and it just makes sense to have an engaged, productive relationship with them. In particular, I was pleased that every person we met with agreed that we need to work together to stop Iran from becoming a nuclear power. This is a tremendous opportunity for collaboration and I look forward to continuing my discussions with the Russians.

Our delegation's message to the Russians was clear: we can work out differences over missile defense and Kosovo and other issues but the Russians need to step up and assist the global community with Iran and terrorism in Iraq. Cooperation is critical to the success of our relationship.

Russia has tremendous economic potential and would like to join the World Trade Organization. We need to work to make this happen so U.S. firms can compete with foreign firms on the economically fertile ground in Russia.

Energy production and supply is an important national security matter for the United States and its allies. Russia's State controlled energy company is building an intricate pipeline system that will control natural gas flow to European countries. They plan to expand to North America. Without cooperation and understanding between our countries, this system could leave the United States vulnerable in the future to gas supplies controlled by the Russians.

Mikhail Margelov, my Russian counterpart in the working group, said that the US-Russia alliance must be strong for the sake of the future of both countries. He is right. Collaboration can bring about change for the good. Negotiation can resolve conflicts. Strong relations can solidify Russia's democracy.

It is in the United States' national security interests to have a strong relationship with a democratic Russia.

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