ON THE RECEPTION ON THE OCCASION OF THE BICENTENNIAL OF RUSSIA-U.S. DIPLOMATIC RELATIONS
 |
|
A photo with Russian Ambassador
|
%20and%20Under%20Secretary%20Nicholas%20R%20Burns.jpg) |
|
Ambassador Yuri Ushakov (right) and Under Secretary Nicholas R Burns
|
%20and%20Special%20Assistant%20to%20the%20President%20and%20Senior%20Director%20for%20Russian%20Affairs%20Thomas%20Graham.jpg) |
|
Russian Ambassador Yuri Ushakov (right) and Special Assistant to the President and Senior Director for Russian Affairs Thomas Graham
|
 |
|
Russian Ambassador Yuri Ushakov makes opening remarks |
On January 30, the Russian Embassy in Washington, DC hosted a gala reception that opened a series of anniversary events dedicated to the 200th Anniversary of Russia-U.S. diplomatic relations.
The reception was attended by people who made a significant personal contribution to the development of Russian-American relations, prominent politicians and public figures, Congressmen, former ambassadors in Moscow, government officials and businessmen.
In his welcoming remarks, Mr. Yuri V. Ushakov, Russian Ambassador in the United States, outlined the rich but, at the same time, difficult history of relations between our countries. It was noted that bilateral partnership now stands at a qualitatively new level, symbolized by a telephone call made by President Putin to President Bush immediately after the horrific 9/11 terrorist acts, when Russian leader expressed his support to the people of the United States.
Meanwhile, the building of Russian-American partnership has its difficulties, hampering the achievement of common strategic goals. Therefore, as it was stressed, that the current anniversary should contribute to ridding the bilateral relations of Cold War stereotypes and complexes and help bring our countries closer together, enhance our interaction in the interests of strengthening international security and stability.
The U.S. Administration was represented by Mr. Nicholas Burns, Undersecretary of State for Political Affairs, who underscored that, despite the difficult history, present-day Russian-American is growing into a long-term partnership. Undersecretary Burns highlighted a number of high-priority areas of cooperation, including combating terrorism and countering WMD proliferation. He noted that both Russia and the United States bear the responsibility for finding the best solutions to relevant global problems.
Dr. James Billington, Director of the Library of Congres, made a retrospective journey into the history of diplomatic relations, pointing to the significance of preserving the continuity of many good traditions in the context of forging a new Russian-American partnership.
The reception was held in a warm and friendly atmosphere. It received wide coverage in the U.S. and Russian mass-media. This year will include a whole series of joint events both in Russia and the United States dedicated to the bicentennial of our diplomatic relations.