Bekijk volle/desktop versie : U.S. may pull nuclear deal to punish Russia, source says



06-09-2008, 14:16
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- The Bush administration is poised to withdraw an agreement with Russia on nuclear trade as punishment for Russia's military action last month against U.S. ally Georgia, a State Department source said Friday.



President Bush and Condoleezza Rice have been critical of Russia's use of military force against Georgia.

The pact, known as the 123 Agreement, would clear the way for more trade of nuclear goods, along with services and technology, between the United States and Russia. Both countries had accepted the agreement, but it is awaiting congressional approval.

But as early as next week President Bush could deep-freeze the agreement, withdrawing it from congressional deliberations, the source said.

Russia analyst Jon Wolfsthal at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington noted that the 123 Agreement has been having trouble winning approval on Capitol Hill and said, "I think they are making a virtue out of a necessity.

"It was unlikely Congress was going to approve the agreement this year," he said. "It was too tempting a target for the administration not to pull it back."

In general, Wolfsthal said, the administration needs to move carefully, signaling to Russia that its behavior in Georgia is unacceptable but that cooperation on mutual issues such as Iran and combating terrorism should continue.

"We have to be careful to calibrate our actions," he said.

The United States is frustrated that Russia is dragging its feet on the Georgia cease-fire agreement brokered by French President Nicolas Sarkozy. Video Watch Russia's foreign minister discuss the Georgia conflict »

There is also new friction between Washington and Moscow over U.S. emergency aid shipments to Georgia. That heat was seen again Friday when the Russians protested against a top-of-the-line U.S. warship coming into the Georgian port of Poti, where Russian forces are still stationed.

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