ACCESSION NUMBER:301701 FILE ID:EUR409 DATE:09/02/93 TITLE:U.S. AND RUSSIA SIGN AGREEMENTS ON SPACE AND ENERGY (09/02/93) TEXT:*93090209.EUR *EUR409 09/02/93 * U.S. AND RUSSIA SIGN AGREEMENTS ON SPACE AND ENERGY (Gore says new partnership has been formed) (650) By David Pitts USIA Staff Writer Washington -- Saying "it is time to leave behind the vestiges of the Cold War," Vice President Gore joined Russian Prime Minister Victor Chernomyrdin September 2 in signing agreements that Gore said herald unprecedented cooperation between the two countries in space, energy, and the environment. They also signed a memorandum of understanding on the Missile Technology Control Regime (MTCR) that indicates Russia "is showing its readiness to be a responsible partner" in the sale of missile technology," Gore remarked. It is "a welcome and important step," he added. "Turning 40 years of competition into a future of cooperation is no easy task," Gore said. The agreements mean that "a new partnership with Russia" has been formed, the focus of which is high technology cooperation, he said. The signing ceremony culminated two days of discussions between Gore and Chernomyrdin and their respective teams on the U.S.-Russian Commission on Cooperation in Space and Energy. This was the first meeting of the commission since it was created during the Vancouver summit between President Clinton and President Yeltsin. The agreements signed on space were: -- a commercial launch agreement that will give Russia access to the launch services market. -- a joint statement on space cooperation that defines a phased approach for cooperation on human space flight. -- two other joint statements, one on environmental monitoring and space science, the other on aeronautics. 1he agreements on space could lead to an unprecedented level of cooperation resulting in a truly international space station by the late 1990s, Gore noted. "The agreements today on space cooperation have their roots in the Apollo/Soyuz rendezvous and docking in 1975," Gore continued. "Our common future holds more of what the Apollo/Soyuz mission foretold," he added. Asked what the United States has to gain from cooperating with the Russians in space, particularly the development of a space station, Gore said, "We will have a better space station through cooperation with Russia." The space station that will result from the cooperative effort "will have more power, significantly more capacity for scientific experiments, and a better orbit," Gore explained. He also said that not only will the cost be lower, but "we will be able to achieve orbit four years earlier than would otherwise be the case." Another major focus of the meetings was the removal of trade and investment barriers, Gore noted. Such barriers exist in both countries, he added. The vice president said, "We will work very hard to expand trade and investment" and indicated that the U.S. and Russia will name two ombudsmen "to identify and remove obstacles to trade and investment." Gore noted that U.S. investment in Hungary is 500 percent greater than in Russia, and yet Hungary has just one-twentieth of the population. Several important agreements were also signed on energy and nuclear power, Gore noted. A "joint study on nuclear power plant safety issues will also take place," Gore explained. He also said that, "We will be working closely with Russia and our own business communities to complete the many U.S. private sector oil and gas deals that are ready to go." The vice president cited two major projects for Russia announced by the Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC). One $100 million project will support privatization in Russia. Loan guarantees and insurance for Texaco's $80 million project to restore oil wells in Siberia -- worth $28 million -- were also announced. Gore said he has accepted an invitation to visit Moscow later this year for the next meeting of the Commission. The working groups will begin work immediately for the next meeting, he explained. Chernomyrdin met with President Clinton September 2 before departing the United States later in the day. NNNN .