WASHINGTON — President Bush is poised to punish Moscow for its invasion of Georgia by canceling a once-celebrated deal for civilian nuclear cooperation between the U.S. and Russia.
With relations between the nations in a nearly Cold Warlike freeze over Russia’s actions against its neighbor last month, planning is underway at the White House for the largely symbolic move by Bush, according to senior administration officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity because the decision was not yet final. Action could come quickly, within days at the most.
Withdrawing the agreement from Capitol Hill would have little actual impact, as the deal very likely would not gain approval during Bush’s presidency. But taking the overt and public step of pulling it would be intended to send a message to Russia and the world that its actions in Georgia last month are not acceptable and will not go unanswered.
Signed in May by the two nations, the deal originally was presented by the administration as a landmark breakthrough. It would give the U.S. access to state-of-the-art Russian nuclear technology and clear the way for Russia to establish itself as a lucrative center for the import and storage of spent nuclear fuel from U.S.-supplied reactors around the world. Such a deal was seen as crucial to boosting relations with Russia.
