George H.W. Bush: “Union March 27, 1992 The remarkable changes occurring in Russia and the other new States of the former Soviet Union…”

“Union March 27, 1992 The remarkable changes occurring in Russia and the other new States of the former Soviet Union offer the United States Government and the private sector unique opportunities to expand trade with these countries, especially in high-technology areas that have not before been readily available to us. The administration's policy is to actively seek opportunities to acquire goods, services, and technologies from the new republics that benefit our economic and other security interests and to encourage private business to expand their search for new opportunities. We are particularly interested in access to new technologies that can be acquired economically. To facilitate this process we are moving to eliminate restrictions that prevented normal trade during the cold war. We are therefore announcing today several steps to promote greater levels of trade with these countries consistent with our firm support for democratic and market economic reforms. First, the administration will promote a greater exchange of technology between our countries in an area once closed by both sides. Specifically: We will authorize the procurement by the Department of Defense of the Russian Topaz space power unit that will give us access to new technology at a significantly lower cost than if we were to try to develop it ourselves.…”