Over the past year, Mr. Chairman, I believe the broader tapestry of our foreign policy has become clear: to encourage the spread of democracy and market economies, to lift up countries that want to be part of that expansion, and to bring more governments to the understanding that the power of the individual is the power that counts. And when evil appears to threaten this progress, America will confront that evil and defeat it -- as we are doing in the war on terrorism.
In weaving this tapestry, we have achieved several successes:
With regard to Russia, President Bush has defied some of our critics and structured a very strong relationship. The meetings that he had with President Putin and the dialogue that has taken place between Russian Foreign Minister (FM) Ivanov and me and between Secretary of Defense Rumsfeld and his counterpart, and at a variety of other levels, have positioned the United States for a strengthened relationship with the land of eleven time zones.
The way that Russia responded to the events of September 11 was reflective of this positive relationship. Russia has been a key member of the antiterrorist coalition. It has played a crucial role in our success in Afghanistan, by providing intelligence, bolstering the Northern Alliance, and assisting our entry into Central Asia. As a result, we have seriously eroded the capabilities of a terrorist network that posed a direct threat to both of our countries. The job is not complete yet -- as our continuing operations in Afghanistan and our just-beginning Train and Equip operations in Georgia clearly demonstrate -- but we are making headway.
Similarly, the way we and the Russians agreed to disagree on the ABM Treaty reflects the intense dialogue we have had over the last thirteen months, a dialogue in which we told the Russians where we were headed and we made clear to them that we were serious and that nothing would deter us. And we asked them if there was a way that we could do what we had to do together, or a way that they could accept what we had to do in light of the threat to both of our countries from ballistic missiles.
At the end of the day, we agreed to disagree and we notified Russia that we were going to withdraw from the ABM Treaty. I notified FM Ivanov -- we talked about our plans for two days. President Bush called President Putin. Then the two presidents arranged the way we would make our different announcements. And the world did not end. An arms race did not break out. There is no crisis in Russia-U.S. relations. In fact, our relations are very good. Both presidents pledged to reduce further the number of their offensive nuclear weapons and we have been hard at work on an agreement to codify these mutual commitments. There is every possibility that we will conclude such an agreement next month in Moscow. This is all part of the new strategic framework with Russia.
We even managed to come to an agreement on how we are going to work through NATO. This new decision-making relationship, which we are referring to as the NATO-Russia Council, or "NATO at 20," will provide a mechanism for consultations, cooperation, joint decisions and joint action. It will offer Russia the opportunity to participate in shaping cooperative projects in areas such as counterterrorism, civil emergency preparedness, and joint training and exercises. Our aim is to have this arrangement in place for the Reykjavik ministerial next month. Moreover, NATO's Secretary General, Lord Robertson, announced last week that President Putin will be invited to Italy for a NATO-Russia Summit on May 28.
Mr. Chairman, as we head for the NATO Summit in Prague in November, where we will consider a new round of NATO enlargement, I think we will find the environment a great deal calmer than we might have expected.
I believe the way we handled the war on terrorism, the ABM Treaty, nuclear reductions, and NATO is reflective of the way we will be working together with Russia in the future. Building on the progress we have already made will require energy, good will, and creativity on both sides as we seek to resolve some of the tough issues on our agenda.
We have not forgotten about abuses of human rights in Chechnya or Moscow's WMD- and missile-related cooperation with Iran. Neither have we neglected to consider what the situation in Afghanistan has made plain for all to see; that is, how do we achieve a more stable security situation in Central Asia? We know that this is something we cannot do without the Russians and something that increasingly they realize can't be done without us, and without the full participation of the countries in the region. We are working these issues as well.
In fact, the way we are approaching Central Asia is symbolic of the way we are approaching the relationship as a whole and of the growing trust between our two countries. We are tackling issues that used to be problems between us and turning them into opportunities for more cooperation. We have found in the last few weeks, for example, that we could even deal with chickens.
And in Madrid, when the "Quartet" met two weeks ago -- the EU [European Union], Russia, the UN [United Nations], and the U.S. -- my talks with Russian FM Ivanov were especially helpful in framing the message the Quartet crafted with respect to the crisis in the Middle East. In Madrid also, FM Ivanov and I agreed to meet early next month here in Washington to continue our discussions on the new strategic framework. And President Bush will visit Moscow and St. Petersburg later in May.
Such a collegial approach to our relationship does not mean that differences have vanished or that tough negotiations are a thing of the past. What it means is that we believe there are no insurmountable obstacles to building on the improved relationship we have already constructed.
It will take time. But we are on the road to a vastly changed relationship with Russia. That can only be for the good -- for America and the world.
With that in mind, Mr. Chairman, and in the spirit of closer U.S.-Russia cooperation, and in light of Russia's continued compliance with Jackson-Vanik legislation, the president hopes Congress will lift the application of this legislation to Russia before the Moscow-St. Petersburg Summit in late May. [....] To fight terrorism as well as alleviate the conditions that fuel violent extremism, we are requesting an estimated $5 billion. In addition to the initiatives outlined in our budget request for the State Department and Related Agencies, this funding includes:
-- Foreign assistance -- $3.6 billion for economic and security assistance, military equipment, and training for front-line states and our other partners in the war on terrorism. This includes --
-- $3.4 billion from Foreign Operations accounts such as the Economic Support Fund, International Military Education and Training, Foreign Military Financing, and Freedom Support Act.
-- $88 million for programs in Russia and other states of the former Soviet Union to reduce the availability to terrorists of weapons of mass destruction. Ongoing programs engage former weapons scientists in peaceful research and help prevent the spread of the materials expertise required to build such weapons.
-- $50 million to support the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) in activities designed to counter nuclear terrorism and implement strengthened safeguards; and $15 million to allow us to respond quickly and effectively to unanticipated or unusually difficult non-proliferation projects or opportunities.
-- $69 million for counterterrorism engagement programs, training, and equipment to help other countries fight global terror, thereby strengthening our own national security.
-- $4 million for the Treasury Department's Office of Technical Assistance to provide training and other necessary expertise to foreign finance offices to halt terrorist financing. [....] In FY 2003, we are requesting $1.4 billion for USAID global health programs. Of this amount, we are requesting $540 million for bilateral HIV/AIDS prevention, care, and treatment activities, and $100 million for the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria, to which I referred earlier. All of this funding will increase the already significant U.S. contribution to combating the AIDS pandemic and maintain our position as the single largest bilateral donor. I should add that the overall U.S. Government request for international HIV/AIDS programs exceeds $1 billion, including $200 million for the Global Fund.