U.S.-Russian Cooperation in the War Against International Terrorism
Abstract
The September 11 attacks on the Pentagon and the twin towers of the World Trade Center elicited an unprecedented outpouring of Russian sympathy and expressions of Russian solidarity with the United States. Muscovites covered the lawn of the U.S. embassy with flowers and went to hospitals to donate blood. Russian President Vladimir Putin immediately sent a telegram of condolence to President Bush and was the first foreign leader to speak with Bush, reaching him by phone within hours of the attack. Although U.S. troops had been placed on heightened alert - a move which would have prompted Soviet Russia to respond in kind during the Cold War - Putin called Bush to assure him he would not add to already heightened tensions by increasing the alert status of Russian troops. Putin reaffirmed his commitment to U.S.-Russian relations in a phone call with Bush the following day, offering cooperation in the pursuit of the attackers. On September 13, Russian flags were lowered to half-mast and a moment of silence was observed in Putin's cabinet meeting and throughout the country. The NATO-Russia Permanent Joint Council announced that "NATO and Russia are united in their resolve not to let those responsible for such an inhuman act to go unpunished. NATO and Russia call on the entire international community to unite in the struggle against terrorism. NATO and Russia will intensify their cooperation under the Founding Act to defeat this scourge." During a visit to Armenia on September 15, Putin stated that the recent attacks could "be compared in scale and cruelty to what the Nazis were perpetrating", perhaps implying that the U.S. and Russia should cooperate as they did in World War II to face a common enemy.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Jan 01, 2002
- Accession Number
- ADA441750
Entities
People
- Emil T. Petruncio
Organizations
- National War College