Cheney Stands by Criticism but Stresses Russia Is Friend, Ally

U.S. vice president, Kazakh president speak to press in Astana, Kazakhstan

Vice President Cheney said that despite his criticism of Russia in a speech May 4 during a summit of leaders from the Baltic and Black Sea regions, the United States sees Russia "as a strong friend and ally" but also wants to make clear that Russia's record on democracy and its energy policy are causes of concern.

Cheney answered questions about U.S.-Russian relations during a joint press availability May 5 with Nursultan Nazarbayev, the president of Kazakhstan, whom he met with in the capital city of Astana, Kazakhstan. The vice president traveled to Kazakhstan following his stop in Vilnius, Lithuania, where he said Russia has a "choice to make" in moving toward democratic reform or further away from it. (See related article.)

The speech in Vilnius "was very carefully crafted," Cheney said in Astana. "It made the point that we don't look upon Russia as an enemy by any means, that we want them as a strong friend and ally. But I also made it clear that we had some concerns with respect to the extent to which they seem to resist the development of strong democracies in those areas represented ... at the conference in Vilnius."

As for his statement at the summit that "no legitimate interest is served when oil and gas become tools of intimidation or blackmail," Cheney said he was repeating concerns expressed "by many of the people I interacted with at the [Vilnius] conference that Russia is using its control over energy resources to gain political leverage of various kinds."

The vice president said he expects the summit of the Group of Eight (G8) nations being hosted by Russia in St. Petersburg in July "will go forward as scheduled ... and that we'll all benefit from a free, open, and honest exchange of views at that conference."

Asked about his views on Iran's nuclear program, Cheney "we need to find a way diplomatically to avoid the kind of problems that would result from an Iran that developed nuclear weapons."

The United States is working with other nations "to try to find a diplomatic solution that will avoid a confrontation over this issue," he added. He cited Kazakhstan, which renounced its nuclear arsenal in 1993, as "an outstanding example that the Iranians might want to consider."

Cheney also expressed his "admiration for all that's been accomplished here in Kazakhstan in the last 15 years, both in the economic and the political realm."

Nazarbayev noted that Kazakhstan helped initiate the Eurasian Union and the Central Asian Cooperation Union, as well as the Conference on Interaction and Confidence-Building Measures in Asia (CICA). His country will host CICA's second summit in June and the Second Congress of Leaders of World and Traditional Religions in September.

Responding to the question of possible tensions between the United States and Russia, Nazarbayev said through a interpreter that he believes "there is no such thing as confrontation between United States and Russia. We think that there is a friendly exchange of opinions and views."

Source: U.S. Department of State

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