Obama, Medvedev Announce New Afghan Cooperation
The two presidents signed a joint statement on cooperation that outlines concrete areas in which the United States and Russia will work together to attempt to stabilize and secure Afghanistan. During President Obama's trip to Moscow, the two leaders also oversaw a formalized agreement to allow the United States to transport military personnel and equipment across Russia to Afghanistan, as well as a new framework for resuming military-to-military cooperation.
"This provides a framkework for improved cooperation... so we can better address the threats we face from terrorism," Mr. Obama said on Monday in a joint press conference with Medvedev from Moscow.
In their joint statement on Afghanistan, Mr. Obama and Medvedev express their commitment to fighting terrorism, armed extremism and illegal drug trafficking in Afghanistan, and to helping the Afghan government reach its socioeconomic objectives like raising living standards and ensuring security. The two presidents state they will make use of the Russian-U.S. Counter-Terrorism Working Group to achieve its objectives.
Mr. Obama and Medvedev say they are prepared to increase assistance to the Afghan government to strengthen the capabilities of the Afghan National Army and police, and in training counternarcotics personnel. The leaders also announced the two countries will develop a bilateral initiative to significantly increase the use of financial intelligence and law enforcement tools to stop the illicit financial flows related to heroin trafficking in Afghanistan.
Given the common threats of terrorism and extremism in Pakistan and Afghanistan, Russia and the U.S. will also attempt to organize Afghani-Pakistani summit meetings and other means of cooperation between the neighboring countries. Mr. Obama's and Medvedev's statement also said they were committed to implementing UN sanctions -- and bolstering those sanctions -- against entities associated with al Qaeda or the Taliban "to isolate those who pose a threat to international peace and security."
Without their mutual cooperation, Medvedev said, the United States and Russia could not achieve success in Afghanistan.
"We realize our role and responsibility for the situation in this world," Medvedev said. "Such powerful states... have special responsiblities for everything that is happenning on our planet."
The joint statement also says the two countries intend to make active use of the transit route through Russia to deliver property and equipment for international forces operating in Afghanistan.
To that end, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and Undersecretary of State William Burns on Monday concluded an agreement that will enable the United States to transport military personnel and lethal equipment across Russia to support American and coalition forces in Afghanistan. The agreement will permit 4,500 flights per year and will save the United States government up to $133 million annually in fuel, maintenance and other transportation costs.
"This is a substantial contribution by Russia to our international efforts...and will save the United States time and resources," Mr. Obama said.
Also on Monday, Joint Chiefs of Staff Admiral Mullen and Russian Chief of the General Staff General Makarov signed a new strategic framework for military-to-military engagement between the United States and Russia. Bilateral activities have been suspended since August 2008. The new framework will set conditions to conduct nearly 20 exchanges and operational events before the end of the year. Additionally, the U.S. European Command and the Russian Ministry of Defense have agreed to meet to plan a robust work plan for 2010.
The United States and Russia also agreed to a framework for the United States – Russia Joint Commission on Prisoners of War and Missing in Action.