Speeches
U.S. Ambassador to Russia Alexander Vershbow's Speech at Novouralsk State Technological Institute
March 30, 2004
Novouralsk, Russia, 2004-03-30
Thank you, Nikolay Anatolyevich.
I am very pleased to have the privilege of speaking to all of you today. It is always a great pleasure to speak to students to hear your thoughts and concerns and to answer your questions, including even the most provocative ones. I want to express my gratitude to Aleksandr Yur'yevich Rumyantsev for making my visit to your city possible, and to representatives from the Federal Agency of Atomic Energy for joining us here. And, of course, I would also like to thank the Acting Director of the Ural Electrochemical Enterprise (UEIE), Anatoliy Pavlovich Obydenov, the Acting Mayor of Novouralsk, Aleksandr Ivanovich Zaytsev, and the Rector of the Novouralsk State Technological Institute, Nikolay Anatolyevich Nosyrev, for showing us the facilities and telling us about the important work that goes on here.
This is my first visit to Novouralsk, home of one of the premier nuclear facilities in Russia. It's a particularly interesting visit for me because the work done here in securing and down-blending highly enriched uranium helps prevent the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, making the world a far safer place for all of us. This cooperative effort symbolizes the U.S.-Russian partnership at its very best. But more about that later.
My visit to Novouralsk is the first on a three-stop visit to the Urals. I will spend tomorrow in Yekaterinburg, where we will celebrate the 10th anniversary of the establishment of the U.S. Consulate there, which is ably led by my colleague, Consul General Scott Rauland. Our consulate serves a vital purpose in developing closer governmental, commercial, cultural and people-to-people ties between the Urals -- a region long-closed to foreigners -- and the United States. But aside from tomorrow's festivities, I have some work planned as well, including meetings with local political leaders and journalists, and a speech to a U.S.-Russia business forum. On Thursday, I will travel to Chelyabinsk, where I also will meet with local political and business leaders as well as alumni of U.S. government exchange programs.
As I look out upon all of you, I am reminded of my first visit to Russia in 1969, at the height of the Cold War, when I was a few years younger than all of you are now. I came to Russia then as a high school exchange student in order to study Russian. My first experience of Russia's rich culture and history -- and of what Fedor Tyutchev called her "special character" -- made a lasting impression on me and I have devoted much of my life to studying and working to improve U.S.-Russian relations. I feel fortunate not only to have been able to work on such an important bilateral relationship but also, in recent years, to watch it thrive.
In the quarter century since I began my diplomatic career in Moscow, our bilateral relationship has evolved from one based on the principle of mutually assured destruction and suspicion to one based increasingly on mutual understanding and partnership. I attended last fall's summit between Presidents Bush and Putin, and Secretary of State Powell's January meetings in Moscow with President Putin and former Foreign Minister Ivanov. The atmosphere at these meetings was completely different from the scripted and tense U.S.-Soviet summits of years past. Our leaders are now able to talk openly about the most sensitive subjects, reflecting the friendship and the sense of partnership established at the very first Bush-Putin meeting nearly three years ago.
More than ever before, the United States and Russia cooperate on a range of issues because we understand that, in the 21st century, our interests increasingly coincide. Americans and Russians understand the importance of cooperating in the fight against terrorism, in stopping the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction and preventing the spread of HIV/AIDS, because these problems threaten both of our countries. Likewise, we cooperate on developing Russia's energy resources because both countries understand that each of us -- and, indeed, the whole world -- will benefit by expanding and diversifying the sources of energy in today's interdependent world.
Our relationship has undergone a dramatic paradigm shift. We no longer consider our relationship a zero-sum game, in which a gain for one side necessarily represents a loss for the other. Today, we understand that we each gain from cooperation. And while our Cold War rivalry was a destabilizing force in the world, our present partnership can be a force for great progress. Indeed, our cooperative efforts here in Novouralsk -- which help to lift the cloud of nuclear proliferation and even nuclear terrorism -- suggest the relationship's true potential as a force for good.
While we have made great progress and the atmosphere of our relationship has improved, there are occasionally specific issues on which we do not agree. That is not surprising: It is normal that sovereign states disagree at times, and we sometimes disagree even with long-time allies, as we did with Germany and France over how to deal with the threat posed by Saddam Hussein's Iraq. We also sometimes worry about the difficulties Russia has experienced in building the institutions of democracy and in establishing the rule of law, since these issues affect the foundation of trust that is essential to any true strategic partnership.
Looking at the future, I think the challenge for U.S.-Russian relations will be to go beyond cooperating on specific issues like nuclear proliferation, terrorism, energy and AIDS, and to build an even broader partnership, based on a common, long-term vision for the future and a shard commitment to democratic values.
To broaden our partnership, our relationship needs to evolve in a number of areas. For example, closer military-to-military cooperation would prepare our two countries to carry out future peacekeeping and counter-terrorism operations together, and also dispel lingering Cold War-era suspicions in the institutions in which they are most deeply entrenched. Likewise, I would like to see our two countries coordinate better our efforts to promote democracy and economic development in troubled regions on Russia's periphery -- such as Georgia, Belarus, and Central Asia -- so that they become reliable, prosperous neighbors for Russia rather than exporters of instability, crime and extremism. And there is much work to be done to complete Russia's integration into the international economic order, including Russia's accession to the World Trade Organization.
While much of the work in improving bilateral relations is done by diplomats and politicians, much of it also needs to be done by ordinary citizens like you. In my view, building stronger people-to-people ties between our two countries is even more important than the high-level diplomacy carried out in our capitals. During the Cold War, relations between American and Russian citizens were tightly controlled and had little impact on our broader relationship. Not long ago, an American ambassador would not have been able to address students at your Institute, or even visit Novouralsk. Now that unlimited people-to-people contacts are possible, we need to help them to flourish, because enduring government-to-government relations can only be built upon a foundation of friendship, trust and mutual understanding between peoples and societies.
In that spirit, let me conclude by reminding you that although your city may be closed to the world, the world is no longer closed to you. I hope you will use the freedom that prior generations of Russians never knew to broaden your horizons and expand your understanding of the world. By so doing, you will be preparing yourself to assume a leadership role in your great country. And when you do rise to positions of leadership -- as I am sure some of you will -- I hope you will continue to work for expanded cooperation with the United States and with the other members of the community of nations. Perhaps you will even think back to the inspiring example of cooperation right here in Novouralsk.
Thank you for your attention.