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Change Your Life! |
Putin wants to put in his e-mail to leaders |
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July 24, 2000
NAGO, Okinawa (AP) - Russian President Vladimir Putin made a strong showing at his first appearance at the exclusive club of the world's richest nations. So strong, in fact, that the group may rejigger its format to bring Russia in on all of its meetings. Putin, elected in March and inaugurated just 2 1/2 months ago, won broad praise from fellow leaders at this year's summit of the Group of Eight leading industrialized nations and Russia. German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder hailed the Russian president's "confident, but not overdrawn, appearance," and suggested the group do away with its two-tier format in which Russia is excluded from full participation in meetings on purely financial matters. French President Jacques Chirac, meanwhile, praised Putin as a champion of reforms. "We had the impression that he has a great determination to implement reforms as rapidly as possible," Chirac said Saturday. On his way to Okinawa, Putin made a brief stopover in North Korea, where he apparently got a promise from leader Kim Jong Il to abandon Pyongyang's missile program in exchange for other nations' help in launching North Korean satellites. The move, widely interpreted as an attempt by Moscow to steal Washington's main argument for a proposed national missile defense system, helped Putin grab the limelight at the start of the summit. Putin also made a pre-summit stopover in China, where he and Chinese President Jiang Zemin jointly condemned the U.S. missile defense plans. Putin spoke at length about North Korea at the G-8 leaders' first dinner, then offered additional details during the bilateral meetings. U.S. President Bill Clinton expressed reservations about North Korea's promise on the missile issue, saying it remains vague, but other leaders said they were very impressed by Putin's Korean presentation. Speaking at a news conference after the summit, Putin said his visit to Pyongyang was necessary to help end the North's international isolation and take a close look at the alleged missile threat. "If there are concerns about the missile program, we must first learn what the program is," he said. "Before making decisions that have a global impact, one must have a reliable information." Putin denied that his trip to North Korea was intended to embarrass the U.S. administration by deepening its rift with such allies as France and Germany, who strongly oppose the proposed NMD. "I wasn't trying to cheat anyone, or drive anyone into the corner," Putin said Saturday. "We are defending our position, drawing new arguments, and I had an impression that my arguments received a favorable impression." Putin was less successful on easing Russia's debt burden. Moscow had hoped to use the summit to negotiate a write-off of dlrs 42 billion in Soviet-era loans it owes to Western governments, but Germany and others warned from the start that was out of the question. With Russia's economy on the rise, boosted by high oil prices, Germany, Russia's biggest creditor, agreed only to reschedule dlrs 4 billion in loans that it is owed by Russia. Hoping to keep attention elsewhere, however, Putin and his aides avoided comments on the issue. Instead, the Russian president spoke at length about Russia's interest in the broad global problems that dominated the summit, such as the development of information technologies and genetic science. Putin easily delved into the complex issues, proposing at some point that the G-8 leaders exchange e-mail addresses. Some officials, however, questioned whether security risks would prevent Internet correspondence among world leaders. Putin's sharp, matter-of-fact manner vividly contrasted with the style of his predecessor Boris Yeltsin, who was plagued by health problems and relished in bear hugs and extravagant statements. The vision of Putin hobnobbing with the world's most powerful men would likely help further boost Putin's image at home. Many Russians felt pride when they saw their 47-year-old president, who has a black belt in judo, also receiving the ultimate karate honor - a ninth-degree black belt from the master of one of the major styles of the martial art in Okinawa. |