Return to Transcripts main page

American Morning

Russia After Arms Reduction Pact

Aired May 24, 2002 - 07:23   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
PAULA ZAHN, CNN ANCHOR: But while Cold War politics may have changed, how much has changed in the lives of average Russians?

For more on that, we are joined by CNN Moscow bureau chief Jill Dougherty.

Good morning -- Jill.

JILL DOUGHERTY, CNN MOSCOW BUREAU CHIEF: Hey, Paula.

ZAHN: Jill, I wanted to start off with the significance of this pact being signed. There are those who say that it's a little bit misleading to talk about both countries getting rid of two-thirds of their nuclear arsenal when, in fact, these weapons aren't being destroyed: They're going into storage. Do they have a point?

DOUGHERTY: That's exactly right. I mean that is a very legitimate issue. After all, they aren't, for the most part, going to be destroyed. They will be taken off the weapons, like the long-range bombers and other things, which they're delivered with. But they'll be sitting in storehouses.

And some of the concern is, number one, that would make them potentially more vulnerable to terrorists. And, also, it is a bit disingenuous to say that they're going to be destroyed, because they won't be. We'll probably have close to the same number of warheads ten years from now as we have now. It's just they'll be in different places.

ZAHN: And what is the Russian view of the heat that President Bush has given them for nurturing this relationship with Iran? They are after all helping build nuclear power plants in Iran, which the Bush administration is very concerned about that potentially could have a dual use down the road.

DOUGHERTY: They are. And, Paula, that was a very interesting moment in the news conference that happened about an hour and a half ago. President Bush said that Mr. Putin understands the issue, that he, too, Mr. Putin, is concerned about Iran. But in the next breath, President Putin said that actually there is proof that Russia has that Western countries -- not just Russia, but Western countries -- are supplying some of the technology that the Iranians are using in their nuclear programs. That was pretty sensational. And he also said there are other countries to worry about. There's North Korea, he said, and also Taiwan. So that's one area that they obviously do not see eye to eye on in spite of all the arms control agreements.

ZAHN: There was an interesting piece in "The Wall Street Journal" this morning talking about this new relationship with Russia and sort of warning about the potential consequences down the road. And they reminded us of this quote: "There is expanding state control over national television, harassment of newspapers and journalists who criticize the Kremlin. There is judiciary that remains too politicized. And there is the continued clout of the oligarchy, of the rich and powerful able to control resources without accountability."

How much discussion do you think there will be during Mr. Bush's trip about any of these specific issues?

DOUGHERTY: Well, I think on the media, there is definitely some discussion. In fact, President Bush is going to be meeting with some media leaders later on.

That's one of the issues here, that on the one hand, you have President Putin, who has moved very strongly toward the West on issues like terrorism and security issues. But on the other hand, some of the civil society issues, like the freedom of the press, etcetera, are still not where people in the United States certainly would like to see them. And also, some people here in Russia would like to see it.

There is a lot more control over the media here by the government. It's not as if you can't get information, it's not as if, you know, the police are at the door knocking down the door or something. But it is that the critical voice on issues like Mr. Putin's policies in general, like Chechnya, you don't hear that much criticism.

ZAHN: All right, Jill, we're going to leave it there at this hour. Jill Dougherty, our Moscow Bureau Chief, glad to have that live report.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com