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French President Nicolas Sarkozy, left, gestures while speaking during a media conference after an EU summit in Brussels, Monday. EU leaders will assess the impact of their fraying relations with Moscow at a summit on Monday, however they face limited options to punish Russia for invading Georgia and recognizing the independence of its Abkhazia and South Ossetia provinces. Seated right is European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso.

Bush to punish Moscow for Georgia invasion

By: The Associated Press

Posted: 9/5/08

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 two nations in a nearly Cold War-like freeze over Russia's actions against its neighbor last month, planning is under way 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, and officials see no need to wait until Vice President Dick Cheney returns next Wednesday from an overseas trip that includes stops in three former Soviet republics. 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. It would require a statement by Bush to Congress that the deal is "no longer in the national security interests" of the United States. A future president could reverse that and send the agreement back to Congress.

Signed in May by the two nations, the administration originally presented the deal as a landmark breakthrough.

It represented a significant reversal in policy for the U.S. on cooperation with Russia on nuclear issues. 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 American-supplied reactors around the world. Such a deal was seen as crucial to boosting relations with Russia, and to fulfilling Bush's vision of increasing civilian nuclear energy use worldwide as a way to combat rising energy demands and climate change.