GEORGE BUSH WANTS VLADIMIR PUTIN TO KNOW THAT THE USA DOES NOT REGARD RUSSIA AS ITS ENEMY








WASHINGTON, March 14. /RIA Novosti correspondent Arkady Orlov/. US President George Bush believes that it is very important that his administration strives to give it to understand to Vladimir Putin absolutely clearly that Russia is not an enemy for the United States. George Bush said this in an interview given for the press; its text has been officially issued by the White House's press service in Washington. The Russians could have been a threat to the USA if they decide to be, but they are not enemies, pointed out George Bush. 


	Having stated that the administration he heads will not  sharply give up the commitments undertaken by the previous  administrations, George Bush said that the negotiations on the American-Russian ABM Treaty of 1972 would be a delicate issue for the USA in the dialogue with the Russians. 


	I have inherited this treaty, and we shall give them time to react to our needs; we think that it would be better to change the ABM Treaty to be able to create the weapons that would shot down others' missiles, said the US President. 


	He said that on Tuesday he had met with his national  security advisers to discuss the problem of missile defence. The US President described the process of the creation of a new  missile defence system as using the resources for combatting the growing threats which the USA faces. 


	According to George Bush, the growing threat comes from  those countries which are not transparent enough and which do not disclose their intentions, that is, any types of authoritarian regimes. If such countries try to turn into hostages the USA, Israel, South Korea or other countries, to which the United  States will offer its protection, it is necessary for us to be able to defend ourselves, said George Bush. 


	The US President underscored that the threat for the USA comes also from terrorists, and therefore the United States needs mighty intelligence possibilities to be able to know, with the help of satellites, what such people are planning and how they  are moving. -O- (kos/ter)  14/03/01    10:52