Putin and Bush to exchange instruments of ratification on SOR treaty

Presidents Vladimir Putin of Russia and George W. Bush of the US, during their meeting in St Petersburg, will exchange instruments of ratification of the Treaty of Strategic Offensive Reductions, Sergei Prikhodko, deputy head of the Kremlin administration, told RIA Novosti.

By doing so the presidents will kick-start practical implementation of the treaty, Prikhodko emphasised. The aim is to cut strategic nuclear arsenals by two-thirds.

According to the Kremlin spokesman, the new Russian-American summit "will mark a worthy finale to the very crowded programme of Vladimir Putin's stay in the 'northern capital'." The meeting in St Petersburg affords a good opportunity for the two presidents to have an in-depth exchange of views on the entire agenda of Russian-American relations, the deputy head of the Kremlin administration noted.

"Topics to be covered include the entire range of current issues which today agitate the international community," the deputy head of the presidential administration said.

As regards economic cooperation, Prikhodko went on to say, the talk will also be of pooling the two countries' resources in high technologies.

An energy dialogue pursued with the most active participation of Russian and US business communities shows that the two economies can complement each other.

Prikhodko stressed that Russia and the US share a common desire to carry out a constructive dialogue.