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Bush, Putin to bask in trade deal
By Stephen Collinson
AFP
WASHINGTON
Petroleumworld.com 13 11 06
President George W. Bush Wednesday holds the first of two meetings with Russian leader Vladimir Putin within five days, bearing the prize of a long sought-after pact on Moscow's entry into the WTO.
While the deal announced Friday is a landmark between two former Cold War foes, it will also throw a harsh spotlight on growing strains in US-Russian relations, as it is expected to face harsh scrutiny in Congress.
The two meetings, one in Moscow on Wednesday and one in Vietnam next Sunday, come as expectations mount of an increasingly testy relationship between Congress, captured by Democrats in Tuesday's elections, and the Kremlin.
Concern is mounting among US legislators on a list of US-Russia disagreements, spanning Moscow's reluctance to impose sanctions on Iran over its nuclear program, geopolitical concerns like Georgia and post-Soviet states, human rights, and trade spats.
There is also disquiet over how the emerging energy superpower hands out oil and gas contracts, its arms sales to US foe Venezuela and the murder of Russian journalist Anna Politkovskaya.
Some Republican and Democrats also believe Bush's vaunted friendship with Putin has failed to deliver much for the United States.
The two leaders will first meet when Air Force One makes a refuelling stop in Moscow en route for Singapore, Vietnam and Indonesia.
Though the meeting is being styled as an informal chat while the presidential jet replenishes its tanks, the symbolism of a stop in Russia is clear.
"We contacted the Russians and said, would you mind if we put down and refuelled ... we said no ceremony, no meetings required," said Bush's national security advisor Stephen Hadley.
"Word came back .. President Putin and Mrs Putina would like to pay a social call on the president for the 45 minutes or so that we're sitting on the tarmac to get refuelled," he said.
The more substantive meeting between the two leaders will come on Sunday November 19, after the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum in Vietnam.
"Obviously we have a lot of issues to talk about with Russia, not the least of which being Iran," said Hadley.
Analysts said Russian leaders are also wary of the incoming Democratic majority in Congress produced by Tuesday's elections.
"Historically, Democrats have always been more complicated for us than Republicans," Kremlin-connected analyst Vyacheslav Nikonov told AFP in Moscow on Thursday.
The trade deal between Russia and the United States, over a decade in the making, lifts one of the final obstacles standing in the way of Russian accession to the World Trade Organisation.
US Chamber of Commerce senior vice president Daniel Christman called on Congress to move swiftly on granting Russia "Permanent Normal Trade Relations" (PNTR) status and so abolish commercial limits imposed on the former communist country.
Without PNTR, US and Russian businesses will still not enjoy full access to each other's markets even after Moscow joins the WTO.
Some analysts say the Democrats are going to order tougher scrutiny of trade agreements once they take control of Congress in January.
Democrat Max Baucus, who is in line to chair the US Senate's powerful finance committee with responsibility for trade matters, welcomed the deal.
"At the same time, Russia must take additional steps to earn a welcome into the WTO," he stressed, highlighting "unacceptable levels of piracy and counterfeiting" and an "unscientific" Russian ban on US beef.
AFP 12 0815 GMT 11 06
Copyright© 2006 AFP. All Rights Reserved.
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