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2002-04-14 03:11 MSK - Bush says he supports Russia-NATO summit
WASHINGTON
- President George W. Bush spoke by telephone Friday with Russian President
Vladimir Putin and Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi to voice his support
for a NATO-Russia summit. Bush told both men he supports holding such a summit
in Italy at the end of May, said White House spokesman Ari Fleischer. "A
NATO-Russia summit, in the president's opinion, would highlight the new
relationship that has been developed between Russia and the West, between Russia
and NATO, as well as the United States, of course," Fleischer said. "And the
president informed both of it. They both welcomed the idea." NATO nations agreed
in December to build stronger ties with Russia, grateful for Putin's cooperation
in the post-Sept. 11 anti-terrorism campaign. A conservative media magnate,
Berlusconi has sought to raise his profile on the international stage since
taking office last year. He first offered to host a NATO-Russia summit in March,
then followed up with a visit to Moscow. In his conversation with Putin, Bush
noted an ongoing trade dispute over U.S. poultry products, and "expressed his
hope that all those issues could be resolved quickly," Fleischer said. A top
Russian agriculture official said Friday that the United States had fulfilled
just two of 12 commitments it undertook to lift a month-old ban on U.S. chicken
and turkey exports to Russia. Russia cited concerns about sanitary conditions in
U.S. plants, including salmonella contamination, and the use of antibiotics and
feed additives in chicken production when it banned American poultry imports as
of March 10. U.S. officials said the ban wasn't justified scientifically and
allowed Russian inspectors to review U.S. facilities. Chicken is the top
American export to Russia, bringing dlrs 600 million to dlrs 700 million a year
to producers in 38 states.
-AP
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