The Hill - 04.13.2005

The Hill

Moscow's Dick Lugar on the Hill

By Peter Savodnik 

A leading Russian lawmaker yesterday called on President Bush and Russian President Vladimir Putin to work together to combat terrorism, drug trafficking and AIDS and to launch a “new Marshall Plan” to rebuild war-ravaged Iraq and Afghanistan.

Sen. Mikhail Margelov, chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee in Russia’s Federal Council ­ the Russian equivalent of U.S. Sen. Richard Lugar (R-Ind.), chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee ­ also called for greater economic cooperation between the U.S. and Russia, and said Congress and the Federal Council must forge closer ties.

“We are here for a very honest dialogue,” Margelov told The Hill. Referring to some of his counterparts in the U.S. Senate, the Russian added: “We agreed that sometimes we have to lock the door, roll up the sleeves and say the unpleasant things, if there are unpleasant things.”

Margelov and Sen. Trent Lott (R-Miss.) first conceived of the U.S. Senate-Russian Federation Council Interparliamentary Group in 2002, when Lott was still majority leader, and it was formally created in 2003.

The group first met in Moscow last March. While Margelov attended Bush’s inauguration in January at Lott’s invitation, this week’s meeting is the first official U.S. gathering, according to Lott spokeswoman Susan Irby.

Margelov also warned the United States against lifting the Jackson-Vanik trade barrier from Ukraine but not Russia, as has been discussed by foreign-policy makers on Capitol Hill and elsewhere in Washington. The Jackson-Vanik amendment to the 1974 Trade Act prohibits most former Soviet republics from achieving most-favored-nation status. While the United States annually grants waivers to Russia, the measure remains a symbolically potent issue.

Lott said that he, too, would oppose lifting Jackson-Vanik from Ukraine but not Russia. And he said he opposes a proposal by Sens. Joe Lieberman (D-Conn.) and John McCain (R-Ariz.) to eject Russia from the G-8, the group of leading democracies.

“We need their involvement,” Lott said of the Russians. “We need them in the G-8. We need them working with us in Iran and the greater Middle East.” Next year, St. Petersburg is scheduled to host the G-8 summit.Lott stressed that while the Americans and Russians had discussed a range of issues ­ including nuclear weapons and the Middle East ­ they had only agreed in writing on a joint effort to fight drugs.

Margelov said he welcomes a meeting with Lieberman and McCain, who, like many in the U.S. government, fear that Russia is slipping back into authoritarianism.

A spokeswoman for Lieberman said Margelov was not on the senator’s schedule while the Russian was in Washington. A McCain spokeswoman said she was unaware of whether her boss would meet with Margelov.

Fears of Russian authoritarianism have been exacerbated in recent months by the Kremlin’s moves to dismantle Yukos Oil, end gubernatorial elections in Russia’s 89 regions and quash debate at the Federal Council and the legislature’s lower body, the Duma.

Russian Sen. Yuri Sharandin, who chairs the Federal Council’s Constitutional Legislation Committee and traveled to Washington with Margelov, conceded that there has not been “real partisan rivalry” in the legislature but added that “we are beginning to witness this rivalry.”

U.S. foreign-policy makers have attacked Russia for, they say, helping Iran build a nuclear-weapons program and trying to sell conventional arms to Syria, which U.S. authorities regard as an enemy of the United States and Israel.

Many in the United States also have raised questions about Russia’s protection of religious freedom. Sen. Sam Brownback (R-Kan.), chairman of the Helsinki Commission, a human-rights panel, will hold a hearing tomorrow on religious persecution in Russia.

Margelov countered that, disagreements between the United States and Russia aside, his country continues to play a critical role in fighting terrorism. He said Russian intelligence and “data and transit support,” particularly in Afghanistan, had helped the United States.