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SYDNEY: Russian President Vladimir Putin was to hold
summit talks Friday with his US counterpart George W. Bush against a
backdrop of rising tensions between the two superpowers.
Ahead of their face-to-face
meeting at the US leader’s Sydney hotel, Putin signed a landmark
deal allowing Australia to export uranium to Russia.
He and host Prime Minister John
Howard moved to ease fears that the sales posed a nuclear
proliferation risk, the Australian leader vowing “any uranium that
is sold to Russia will be sold under very strict safeguards.”
They were speaking at a joint
press conference after talks here ahead of a summit of the Asia
Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum.
But the focus of Putin’s visit
was due to shift to sharper controversies in his meeting later to
try to break deadlocks over US missile defense plans and the future
of Kosovo.
Moscow, surging with confidence
because of huge oil and gas revenues, has grown increasingly defiant
of US foreign policy—while Putin, nearing the end of his second
term in 2008, has been literally showing off his muscles after a
bare-chested photo shoot last month.
Russia warned on the eve of
Putin’s Asian tour that there was no room for compromise on Kosovo
and missile defense.
Both “are so-called red line
issues for Russia,” Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said in Moscow.
“There we cannot fail to react, and we must stick to our position
to the end.”
Russia has also been furious over
US plans to deploy elements of a missile defense shield in Poland
and the Czech Republic, accusing Washington of seeking to upset the
nuclear balance of power.
Washington insists the shield is
aimed at protecting against potential attacks from Iran or North
Korea and would pose no threat to Russia.
The clash over Kosovo’s future
status has been equally sharp, with Russia blocking US-led proposals
to grant the province independence from Serbia.
Points of contention also remain
on Russia’s decade-long bid to join the 151-member World Trade
Organization.
The United States agreed in
principle in 2006 to support the bid, though tough negotiations
continue over issues such as intellectual property rights and health
standards for agricultural imports into Russia.
While diplomatic strains with the
West have grown, Russia has sought to increase economic and
political ties throughout Asia.
Friday’s deal on importing
Australian uranium is likely to further expand Russia’s role as an
energy superpower. Already the world’s top exporter of
hydrocarbons, it wants to become an international supply center for
nuclear fuel.
The agreement “will allow the
supply of Australian uranium for use in Russia’s civil nuclear
power industry and provide a framework for broader cooperation on
peaceful nuclear-related activities,” Howard said.
Both he and Putin dismissed
concerns that Russia would sell Australian uranium on to third
countries, such as Iran.
“I simply don’t understand
what people are talking about,” Putin said, pointing out that
Russia already exports large quantities of weapons-grade uranium,
including 30 tons a year to the United States.
Putin arrived here earlier Friday
fresh from a visit to the world’s most populous Muslim nation,
Indonesia, where he inked a billion-dollar arms deal.
His visit to Indonesia was the
first by a Russian or Soviet leader in nearly five decades, while
for Australia, it was the first ever.
Putin, Bush and Howard will join
18 other world leaders, including Chinese President Hu Jintao, at
the weekend summit.
--AFP
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