| The Russian president was greeted warmer in Chile than the American one The APEC summit that ended yesterday in Santiago became the first foreign business trip for re-elected US President George W. Bush. And in the Chilean capital he was greeted with dignity: with thousands of anti-globalization demonstrations, hundreds of mocking portraits of the US President, slogans like “death to Bush.”
The official part of the events was not without incidents. In particular, for the sake of the safety of the American president, the organizers encroached on the order of letters in the English alphabet. Leaders of APEC countries traditionally gather for a summit in accordance with the name of the country. Thus, Vietnam is last on the list, and the United States is in second to last place. However, Bush not only let the Vietnamese go ahead, but also drove onto the ceremony site, where Chilean President Ricardo Lagos was waiting for him, accompanied by a reserve limousine and a whole platoon of security guards. Moreover, the American security service officers peered intently at the surroundings and the faces of the reporters for almost half a minute, and only when they were satisfied with both did they allow Bush to leave the limousine. Finally, at a working dinner, Bush's guards even got into a brawl with the Chilean carabinieri, because they wanted to guard their president right at the table.
Vladimir Putin was treated much more kindly in Chile. The president's official visit to this country was also timed to coincide with the APEC summit - by the way, the first visit of a Russian leader to South America. During the negotiations, not only a serious package of documents was signed (in particular, a convention on the avoidance of double taxation, intergovernmental agreements on military-technical cooperation and on the exploration and use of space for peaceful purposes, an agreement between Vnesheconombank and the non-state Chilean pension fund "Plan Vital International" ), but also promising projects in the economic sphere. For example, the Gazprom delegation led by Alexey Miller discovered serious interest in Chile in the supply of liquefied natural gas, and Russian manufacturers of equipment (including automobiles and helicopters) showed interest in opening screwdriver assembly plants in Chile.
In Santiago, Russian officials also signed protocols on the completion of negotiations on accession to the WTO with four APEC countries: Chile, Korea, Singapore and Taiwan. It was expected that a similar document would be signed with New Zealand, but no agreement could be reached. The Ministry of Economic Development believes that this could happen early next year.
Undoubtedly, increased attention was focused on the bilateral meetings of Vladimir Putin with US President George W. Bush and Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi. Regarding the American leader, a few days ago, a high-ranking Kremlin official said that Moscow would not like bilateral relations to “lose their momentum” and “start from scratch” after the US elections. But President Bush, contrary to fears, immediately took it right away. He, firstly, confirmed the US commitment to the format of six-party negotiations on North Korea, and secondly, he agreed with Vladimir Putin on the need to hold a summit at the beginning of next year. When exactly and in which country it will take place (formally, it’s Russia’s turn to meet) has not yet been decided.
The meeting with the Japanese prime minister took place literally at the last moment. The Japanese press has unanimously reported in recent days that it is in Santiago that Vladimir Putin will agree to give Japan the four South Kuril Islands. But this, of course, did not happen. Vladimir Putin mentioned the islands in passing, noting that, despite a number of controversial issues in bilateral relations, Russian-Japanese cooperation is developing very dynamically. “Japanese companies are participating in a number of energy projects, including on Sakhalin. We will do our best to welcome and support the activity of Japanese companies in Russia,” the president emphasized. In turn, the Japanese prime minister, thanking Russia for its assistance in eliminating the consequences of the earthquake, invited Mr. Putin to visit Japan next year, timed to coincide with the 150th anniversary of the establishment of official relations between the countries.
Yesterday the Russian president went to Brazil, and from there today he will fly in the direction of Moscow - to Portugal. Andrey DENISOV, Santiago |
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