Putin answers Americans' questions
On call-in show, topics include arms treaties, terrorism

Putin Speaks to America
Listen as President Putin speaks with NPR's Robert Siegel, taking calls and e-mail from listeners across America.

More NPR News features on Putin

Nov. 15, 2001 -- In a live broadcast conversation with the American people, Russian President Vladimir Putin expressed confidence that he and President Bush -- whom he called "my partner and colleague" -- will strike an agreement on missile defense that ensures "the security of both our two countries and the rest of the world."

Such an agreement eluded the leaders during their three-day U.S. summit, Putin said, because "the U.S. administration has its own approach to how this problem could be solved," including a desire to scrap the 1972 Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty. Though Putin leaves the summit without a U.S. commitment to keep the treaty, he told NPR's Robert Siegel, "I don't have any doubt whatever that no matter what unfolds, at the end of the day we will be able to arrive at a solution that will be acceptable to everyone involved."

By fielding questions for about 40 minutes live on National Public Radio, Putin became the first Russian leader to participate in a radio call-in show with an American audience. During the program, he answered some of the thousands of questions submitted by phone and e-mail. Topics ranged from his favorite book and his nation's policy in Chechnya, to his feelings upon visiting Ground Zero where the Sept. 11 attacks leveled the World Trade Center.

"It was a very emotional experience," Putin said. "It made a very big impact not just on me personally, but on Russia as a whole. And what I went to do was not just go visit the place, but to pay my respects to those who have suffered in this tragedy." On a poster near the site, Putin said he wrote this inscription: "This great city and the great people of America will no doubt prevail."

A caller asked Putin whether Russia's experience with Islamic fundamentalist terrorists in Chechnya held any lessons for the United States in its war on terrorists sponsored by Osama bin Laden and his al Qaeda network. Putin offered advice that he said he also had shared with Mr. Bush: "The most important thing is your society’s morale. It's the society’s preparedness to try and control terrorism and terror...And I have a feeling that America has enough of that now."

Referring to bombings that he has attributed to Chechen terrorists, Putin said, "Exactly two years ago, Russia was the first to come across the kind of terrorism that the Americans had to deal with on Sept. 11. The scale was not as large, but it was just as horrendous. Apartment buildings were exploded and hundreds of completely innocent people died. That is why I'm in a position to say that the citizens of Russia, probably more intimately than other nations of the world, took this tragedy to heart."

Asked whether he would call bin Laden evil, as Mr. Bush repeatedly has, Putin said, "I think President Bush is being very mild in his choice of words. I have other definitions and epithets to offer, but of course I'm being restrained by talking to the media. These terrorists do not really treat the rest of humanity as human beings. We're dust, we're a bunch of nobodys. These criminals deserve the most serious of attention and the most rigorous of treatment."

Putin started this final day of his U.S. tour with breakfast at President Bush's Texas ranch. Later in the day, he talked with Texas school kids and visited the wreckage of the World Trade Center in New York. In an otherwise cordial summit, the one discordant issue was the U.S. proposal for a missile defense system. Putin insists the system would violate the Anti-Ballistic Missile (ABM) Treaty. Mr. Bush has said he will scrap the 1972 pact if necessary to test missiles.

The two leaders did agree to reduce their nations' nuclear stockpiles by two-thirds. And Mr. Bush vowed to work with Congress to drop Russia from the Jackson-Vanik restrictions, a 1974 law that requires a review of a country's emigration policies in exchange for U.S. trade benefits. Russia views Jackson-Vanik as an outdated vestige of the Cold War and an obstacle to its membership in the World Trade Organization.

But the impasse on missile defense persists. "We have a difference of opinion" on the proposed shield, Mr. Bush said as the two leaders answered students' questions today at a high school in Crawford, Texas. Putin concurred, but promised to continue discussions. Mr. Bush is considering a trip to Russia early next year.

Before his visit, Putin had indicated some flexibility on missile defense, hinting the treaty could be amended to allow testing. But in a speech Tuesday night at the Russian embassy in Washington D.C., he indicated his attachment to the ABM pact. "Today the world is far from having international relations be based solely on trust, unfortunately," Putin said. "That is why it is so important today to rely on the foundation of existing agreements in the arms control and disarmament area."

The two leaders also discussed NATO's expansion into Eastern Europe, which Moscow considers a threat to its stability and influence. Mr. Bush has offered some reassurance, saying: "We will work together with NATO members to ensure that NATO and Russia are increasingly allied." But in his embassy remarks, Putin made clear he expects Russia's backing of the U.S. bombing campaign to be rewarded with new international stature. He urged creation of what he called a fully-fledged union of the world's leading powers, anchored by the United Nations. Putin has been among the strongest backers of America's war with Afghanistan's Taliban regime. "Terrorists hoped to take advantage of our differences and eventually split the world community," Putin said during his visit. "But what they achieved was our consolidation and solidarity."