Kindgo
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Mon Dec 2,12:33 AM ET
By AUDRA ANG, Associated Press Writer
BEIJING - The Russian and Chinese presidents appealed Monday to North Korea (news - web sites) and the United States to stick to a 1994 agreement for the North to give up it nuclear weapons program in exchange for foreign energy aid.
The appeal came in a wide-ranging declaration issued on the first day of a visit to Beijing by Russian President Vladimir Putin (news - web sites). It also staked out joint foreign-policy positions that may conflict with Washington, calling for a peaceful settlement in Iraq and declaring support for each other's struggle with Muslim separatists.
North Korea said last month that the 1994 pact had collapsed after the United States and its allies — South Korea (news - web sites), Japan and the European Union (news - web sites) — suspended supplies of fuel oil. The cutoff was meant to punish the North for starting a new nuclear weapons program, which violated the deal.
Putin and his Chinese counterpart, Jiang Zemin, appealed for a nuclear-free Korean peninsula. They stressed the "extreme importance" of U.S.-North Korean relations "on the basis of adherence to agreements already reached, including the framework agreement of 1994."
The declaration called for "normalization of relations" between Washington and Pyongyang, but didn't say whether that meant opening full diplomatic relations. Chinese and Russian officials weren't immediately available to clarify the statement.
Washington and the isolated, impoverished North have never had formal diplomatic ties.
The statement also declared Chinese support for Russia's struggle to crush an independence movement in Chechyna and Moscow's backing for Beijing's fight with separatists in the Muslim northwest.
It complained about a "policy of double standards" by other governments and rejected "the use of human rights questions as a lever for pressure in international relations."
Earlier Monday, Putin said Russia wants to "work hard together" with the new generation of Chinese leaders.
Putin's visit, a chance to assess Communist Party leaders installed at a congress last month, serves as a reminder of Moscow's desire for closer relations with China after a year spent boosting post-Sept. 11 cooperation with the West.
"We hope the leaders in our two countries will work hard together to achieve great things," Putin said after an hourlong meeting with Jiang that was closed to reporters. "The relationship between our two countries has reached a very high level."
The Russian president planned to meet later with Vice President Hu Jintao, who replaced Jiang last month as party leader and is expected to become president in March. Putin also was to meet Premier Zhu Rongji and Li Peng, chairman of China's legislature.
Topics for talks also include terrorism and economic issues, the Russian news agency ITAR-Tass quoted the deputy head of the Kremlin administration, Sergei Prikhodko, as saying.
In July 2001, Putin and Jiang signed a friendship and cooperation treaty ending half a century of often strained relations. The Soviet Union and China were foes for much of the Cold War and Putin's visit is meant to reaffirm Russia's goodwill and set an agenda for closer cooperation.
Putin and Jiang were expected to sign a declaration Monday on "the role of the two countries in the contemporary world," Prikhodko was quoted as saying.
The two sides are discussing a proposed multibillion-dollar pipeline to deliver Russian oil to fuel China's booming economy, but it wasn't clear whether a final agreement would be signed during the Putin visit.
Moscow and Beijing began a study last year of the 2,400-kilometer-long (1,500-mile-long) pipeline, which would run from the Russian city of Angarsk to Daqing, the center of China's oil industry.
Russian oil is especially attractive to Chinese leaders who have seen their energy imports surge and want more secure supplies than those offered by the Middle East, where they see the threat of possible conflict between the United States and Iraq.
"We can discuss long-term cooperation in the energy sphere which is in the interest of both sides, as China's energy resources are limited while Russia has rich energy resources," Putin said in an interview with China's official Xinhua News Agency before leaving Moscow.
Russian officials say the two sides also expect to sign agreements including pledges to fight tax evasion, money laundering and other financial offenses, an extradition agreement and cooperation deals on science and tourism.
Russia and China want to remove "an imbalance between the high level of political dialogue and trade and economic ties," ITAR-Tass quoted him as saying.
Trade between the two sides totaled US$10.7 billion in 2001 and is expected to top US$11 billion this year, but Russian authorities say that is well below potential for two giant nations that share a 4,240-kilometer-long (2,630-mile-long) border.
Putin is to meet with university students and visit a section of the Great Wall outside Beijing on Tuesday before leaving for India.
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God bless,
Kindgo
Inside the will of God there is no failure. Outside the will of God there is no success.
Posts: 4320 | From: Sunny Florida | Registered: Jun 2002
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