OREANDA-NEWS. March 10, 2011. During his meeting with US Vice President Joe Biden, Vladimir Putin proposed taking a step of historical significance by introducing visa-free travel between Russia and the United States. He said it would create an absolutely new moral atmosphere in relations between the United States and Russia. Mr Biden said it was a good idea.


Transcript of the beginning of the meeting:

Vladimir Putin: Good afternoon. You have a packed agenda in Moscow that leaves you hardly a minute for yourself, which is a pity because there is a lot to see in Moscow. You haven’t been to Moscow for a long time, 15 years, if I remember correctly. Russia and Moscow have seen a huge change for the better in that time.

It could be interesting for you to find out more about Russia, to travel to other cities, especially now that relations between our countries are progressing so well. Bilateral trade grew 29% in 2010, which was the year we signed and ratified the New START Treaty and worked jointly on the peaceful uses of nuclear energy.

General Electric, Boeing, Chevron and nearly all other large US companies are working in Russia very successfully.

I am pleased to say that Russian investment in the United States keeps growing, including in humanitarian projects and in such sensitive sectors as nuclear engineering. All these projects get the approval of the US Committee on Foreign Investment, which is very gratifying. The number of ties between Americans and Russians keep growing in many spheres at a considerable pace.

We are holding dynamic negotiations with European countries on introducing visa-free travel between Russia and the European Union. The United States has a visa-free regime with nearly all of the EU countries. If Russia and the United States agreed on visa-free travel before Russia and the European Union do so, it would be a historic step in the development of US-Russian relations.

Joe Biden (as translated): This is a good idea.

Vladimir Putin: This would destroy the old stereotypes that still exist in Russia and the United States, allowing us to turn a new page in bilateral relations and creating an absolutely new atmosphere between our countries.

Seeing your positive response to this proposal, I would like to say that the opinion of one of the senior members of the US administration, who is highly respected in Congress, is very important to us.

Joe Biden (as translated): Mr Prime Minister, I would like to tell you – if you have not noticed it yet – that there is a big difference between the president and vice president, and I am learning more about it every day. But the good news is that the president and I agree 100% that we should continue to bring Russia and the United States closer together, and keep improving our relationship. This is why I said in my first foreign policy speech in Munich that the time has come to push the reset button and change the tenor of our relations.

I believe that in the previous eight years the US administration did not use the opportunities available for cooperation between our countries. The point at issue is not altruism. I think that it is in our interests and, it seems to me, in Russia’s interests to improve our relations. In the last two years I came to the following conclusion: when any country in the world has a problem, they seek the assistance of Moscow or Washington, but not of other capitals.

So, we have this opportunity now, the opportunity to use the achievements of the last two years, and not only the New START Treaty, but also our cooperation in Afghanistan, our cooperation in the fight against drugs, and our cooperation in a number of other spheres.

Now is the time when we should focus our attention on the economy. You mentioned Boeing; yesterday I met with a group of American and Russian top managers representing the key companies. Your colleague was also present. In particular, the chairman of a Russian corporation said that one of the reasons why American business wants to work in Russia is that Russia is such a big market. He also mentioned other weighty reasons.

But the Boeing president said he doesn’t share his colleague’s view. He said that the aircraft manufacturing market in China is seven times larger than in Russia. He said: Let me explain why we are working here. It’s because Russia has the best engineers in the world, and because Russia has vast intellectual resources. Russia is a great country. This is the reason, he said. So, it is thanks to Russian titanium that our aircraft, which you buy, are flying.

Vladimir Putin: Boeing has a large engineering centre here in Moscow. That’s the reason.