MOSCOW (voa) – Top U.S. and Russian officials have renewed a pledge to work jointly in fighting international terrorism and eliminating the terrorist network in Afghanistan.
During talks in Moscow Friday, U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage and Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Vyacheslav Trubnikov also vowed to cooperate to end international drug trafficking that is a destabilizing factor in Central Asia. In a statement released after their talks, Mr. Armitage and Mr. Trubnikov said they agreed that the deployment of U.S. troops in the former Soviet state of Georgia to train its military to fight terrorism is temporary, and the deployment of U.S. troops in Central Asian nations bordering Afghanistan is also temporary. The statement added that the United States has no intention of establishing permanent military bases in the region.
Friday’s talks are the latest in a series of top-level meetings in advance of next month’s summit between President Bush and Russian President Vladimir Putin. At the summit, President Bush and President Putin are expected to discuss trade issues and sign a key arms control agreement. U.S. and Russian negotiators want to put together a treaty cutting each country’s offensive nuclear arsenal from 6,000 to between 1,700 and 2,200 warheads by 2012.
Russian Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov and U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell are expected to meet in Washington next week to talk about plans for the summit and discuss outstanding arms control issues.
