The White House                     Office of the Press Secretary  --------------------------------------------------------------- For Immediate Release                             April 23, 1993                         Background Information:                      Advancing U.S. Relations          with Russia and the other New Independent States                            April 23, 1993   At the Vancouver summit, President Clinton and President Yeltsin  agreed to pursue a number of measures designed to implement an  economic and strategic partnership between the U.S. and Russia.   Since then, President Clinton has directed that a number of steps  be taken to move this process forward.  The Administration is  announcing a number of steps today in order to underscore its  deep commitment to a new and closer partnership with Russia based  on its government's commitment to reform.   Executive Review of Cold War Laws  President Clinton and President Yeltsin discussed the  desirability of reviewing and updating U.S. laws and regulations  to reflect the end of the Cold War.  Congress has already acted  to revise many laws to reflect the fact that a communist Soviet  Union has been replaced by a democratic Russia and other  independent states.  However, many laws and regulations remain  that contain language and restrictions that fail to reflect the  end of the Cold War and that unnecessarily undermine relations  with Russia and the other new independent states.  The President today has ordered an Executive review of laws and  regulations so that, where appropriate and consistent with U.S.  security and other national interests, such provisions can be  revised or removed.  He has asked Ambassador-at-large Strobe  Talbott to coordinate this review on an expedited basis.  The  President has indicated that he will welcome congressional  efforts to help this review proceed as quickly as possible.  This review will weigh all considerations that pertain to  revision of such provisions, and the initiation of the review may  help to remedy some of the circumstances that have justified such  provisions in the past.  For example, because the Russians are  eager to have their status changed under the Jackson-Vanik  legislation, President Yeltsin personally assured President  Clinton in Vancouver that he would look into individual cases  involving continuing restrictions on emigration from Russia.  By  addressing such issues, this review can help strengthen the bonds  of trust and partnership between the U.S. and Russia, and between the U.S. and the other new independent states.   Review of COCOM  It is also time to consider expeditiously with America's allies  the future of another Cold War institution -- the Coordinating  Committee for Multilateral Export Controls (COCOM).  The United  States has begun a thorough review of how to reorient export  controls to the post-Cold War world, in which Russia is no longer  viewed as a potential adversary, but as a potential ally in  combatting the proliferation of sensitive technology.  Steps to Improve the Security Relationship  The President also has taken steps to move ahead on a range of  efforts discussed in Vancouver that can strengthen U.S. security  and improve our security relationship with the Russians and the  other states.   Accelerated Deactivation of Nuclear Weapons  In Vancouver, the two Presidents discussed accelerating the  process of deactivating nuclear strategic systems scheduled for  elimination under the START I Treaty.  President Clinton has  directed the Department of Defense to complete this process well  in advance of the seven year reduction period outlined in START  I.  In addition, the United States, together with Russia and the  other relevant states of the former Soviet Union, will be  exploring programs under Nunn-Lugar to help them to accelerate  this process.   Multilateral Test Ban  The two Presidents agreed at Vancouver that negotiations on a  multilateral nuclear test ban should commence at an early date,  and that the two governments would consult with each other  accordingly.  The United States looks forward to beginning  consultations with Russia, our allies, and other states, on the  specific issues related to this negotiation.  The United States  expects to start this consultative process within the next two  months.       Detargeting  The two Presidents also began a dialogue on the issue of nuclear  targeting at Vancouver.  As the United States and Russia move  into a new relationship of strategic partnership, there is a need  to reexamine many of the assumptions and means employed in the  past to safeguard U.S. security against a nuclear adversary.  The  Administration is beginning a comprehensive review of measures  that could enhance strategic stability, including recent  proposals for detargeting nuclear missiles.     Other Measures to Create a New Security Relationship  In response to the incident involving a collision between US and  Russian submarines last month, Secretary Aspin will be ready to  discuss ways to avoid such incidents in the future with Russian  Defense Minister Grachev during his visit to the United States in  late May.  Secretary Aspin will also be prepared to move forward with  Defense Minister Grachev in May to develop a combined training  program between our two military forces and to prepare for joint  exercises in peacekeeping, such as that authorized by the UN  Security Council.  The United States looks forward to broadening  such training and exercises to include other peacekeeping  contributors, in order to improve inter-operability, readiness,  and planning for multilateral peacekeeping operations.  The US  and Russia are working together to convene a May Ministerial  Meeting of the UN Security Council to discuss proposals for  enhancing the UN's peacekeeping capability and to move  consideration of the Secretary-General's Agenda for Peace from  the discussion to the implementation phase.  The U.S. is also  working with the Russians to focus specifically on improvements  in the financing and management of UN operations.  The purpose of  these initiatives will be to cooperate on peacekeeping for our  participation in UN or CSCE sponsored actions.   Multilateral and Bilateral Partnership with Reform  Finally, the Administration continues to move ahead on a range of  initiatives aimed at striking a partnership with economic and  political reformers throughout Russia and the other states.  The  Administration is continuing work with our G-7 partners to  assemble the package of multilateral assistance that Secretaries  Bentsen and Christopher recently negotiated in Tokyo.  And the  Administration is continuing consultation with Congress over the  further efforts the U.S. will take to assist the process of  reform in Russia and the other states.                             *    *    *  The Administration believes these steps can increase American  security while improving the relationship between the U.S. and  Russia, and between the U.S. and the other new independent  states.