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RANSAC Nuclear News, March 31, 2003 Compiled by Lauren Arestie A. Cooperative Threat Reduction
 A. Cooperative Threat Reduction 1. Editorial: The Other WMDs President Bush has cited Iraq's presumed stockpile of weapons of mass destruction -- and the fear that Saddam Hussein might make them available to terrorists -- as the primary justification for invading Iraq. Whether that case turns out to be valid remains to be seen. But what is certain is that a huge volume of nuclear warheads and nuclear weapons-grade materials whose existence is beyond dispute has yet to be secured from possible theft or sale to terrorists. Many of these nuclear weapons and materials -- and huge quantities of biological and chemical warfare agents -- are stored at sites scattered around Russia. Their destruction or secure storage has been under way for years under a 1991 agreement, with the United States (and to a lesser extent European countries) paying the bulk of the cost. The program, governed in this country by a law authored by former Sen. Sam Nunn and Sen. Richard Lugar, now chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, has made real progress. But its completion is not in sight, for reasons that include attempts in Congress to tie funding to Russian human rights progress to Moscow's denial of access to sensitive sites to bureaucratic inertia. Recent reports by the General Accounting Office and the Nuclear Threat Initiative, a consortium of groups chaired by Nunn, say that fewer than half of Russia's weapons earmarked for destruction or secure storage have been dealt with properly. In some cases, deadly materials that terrorists would pay dearly for are poorly guarded and are thus at risk of being stolen or sold on the black market. Such horror stories may be rare exceptions, and some U.S. officials insist that the risk of nuclear, chemical and biological materials falling into the hands of terrorists is exaggerated. But the warnings continue to be issued by reputable institutions. That suggests that the risk is real and needs to be given more urgent attention. Unfortunately, lingering bitterness in Moscow over the U.S. war in Iraq, and renewed charges by U.S. officials that Russian firms are selling Iraq military equipment -- including anti-tank missiles and electronic jamming devices -- that might be used against U.S. forces complicate the task. Nothing on the international agenda is more important than controlling the spread of nuclear and other mass-destruction weapons. President Bush says the war in Iraq is meant to deal with that problem. But even if he is right, the war in Iraq not only distracts the world from the urgent task of strengthening arms controls but is likely to exacerbate the threat of proliferation, as terrorist groups and "rogue" regimes fearful of being next on the U.S. target list seek nuclear and other frightful weapons. return to menu 2. White House Requests Funding to Expand Nunn-Lugar Beyond Soviet Borders (excerpted) Following a week of increasing pressure to revamp key strategies in US Cooperative Threat Reduction efforts, the White House has submitted to Congress a request for $50m in additional funding over the next two years to secure weapons of mass destruction located outside the countries of the former Soviet Union. The request dovetails with the publication this week of a report by the US government's auditing agency, the General Accounting Office, or GAO, that said Russian secrecy concerns at its nuclear sites are severely impeding progress of the 11-year-old Nunn-Lugar program's drive to provide safer storage for nuclear weapons arsenals. The proposed expansion of the program to include countries other than former Soviet states, however, has long been on the wish-list of many senior threat reduction officials and security analysts who say that focusing only on former Cold War leftovers limits the program's options in preventing other nations' weapons stockpiles and radioactive materials from falling into the hands of terrorists or rogue states. One such stockpile, in Belgrade, had to be removed last year with funding assistance from the non-governmental Nuclear Threat Initiative because of Nunn-Lugar's current restrictions that funding be used only to dismantle Soviet arsenals. US President George Bush asked for the additional $50m in funding in his $75bn supplemental appropriations request made Tuesday primarily to fund the US-led war in Iraq. The request for the new authority is partially redundant, since the Pentagon already requested the spending authority in its fiscal year 2004 budget request. The Bush Administration had asked for funding last year to remove weapons-grade nuclear material from two dozen sites around the world. Republicans in the House of Representatives, however, opposed last year's request. Observers suggested that Bush's request indicated a heightened commitment from the White House to threat reduction efforts. "It shows the seriousness and importance the Bush Administration places on this. The US doesn't have authority to pick up WMD [weapons of mass destruction] outside of the former USSR," Senator Richard Lugar's spokesman, Andy Fisher told the Global Security Newswire. Lugar, along with former Senator Sam Nunn, helped create the Nunn-Lugar, or CTR, legislation in 1991. Lugar, who is also chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, has vowed to expand CTR authority to include nations that are not part of the ex-Soviet states. He recently has argued the administration needs to focus more attention on efforts to curb global nuclear proliferation. [...] Earlier this month, a group of Harvard researchers said only 37 percent of the potentially vulnerable nuclear material in the former Soviet Union is being adequately protected. The GAO figures produced a similar percentage. Appearing at a press conference attending the Harvard report's release, Lugar spoke to the concerns being voiced among House Republicans, saying "Russia has got to be a partner." Lugar then cited a lengthy list of cases where Russians have rebuffed the US officials in seeking access to nuclear sites. "I have first hand experience with this," he said, adding that it would be "absurd" to abandon the program because of this. "What alternative do we have?" asked Lugar. Lugar's sentiments were echoed in a lengthy statement released Wednesday by the influential Russian American Nuclear Security Advisory Council, or RANSAC, a group that advised both Washington and Moscow on non-proliferation issues. Saying that Hunter's comments leave "the mistaken impression that threat reduction spending is not a cost-effective investment in protecting the homeland and global security," the RANSAC statement appealed to those in government who would seek to slow and burden CTR efforts with more unwieldy auditing procedures and funding cuts. RANSAC pointed out that the approximately $1bn pf annual spending on the Pentagon-run CTR program is less than 0.3 percent of the United States' 2003 defense budget. On this shoe-string budget, the statement notes, CTR has over the past 12 years removed roughly 6,000 nuclear warheads from deployment; has destroyed more than 400 missile silos; eliminated 1,500 ballistic missiles, cruise missiles, submarines and strategic bombers; eliminated 150 metric tons of weapons-grade uranium, and destroyed a major chemical weapons production plant. CTR has also made the transportation and storage of nuclear materials safer, and has given financial support to some 50,000 nuclear, chemical and biological weapons scientists to pursue peace oriented research. Although the quantity of weapons material that has been secured is minimal compared to that which remains to be secured, the RANSAC statement said that "threat reduction's problems can only be solved if the Congress and the Bush administration act expeditiously to improve the effort rather than further bruising it." "Congress has impeded implementation of key programs because of spending and reporting restrictions. We need leadership that focuses on clearing away obstacles and accelerating progress, not on increasing micromanagement and magnifying mistakes." The statement went on to add "we have been working on this problem for 11 years, and at the current pace there is still a decade of work to go. That is too much time in today's unpredictable threat environment. More political capital needs to be invested to speed the completion of this work." For this to be accomplished, RANSAC spelled out a number of initiatives - which have also been proffered by the many reports on CTR's progress released since January - that officials should implement this year. Among them is the creation of a senior coordinator's position to monitor all CTR activities. This position, according to RANSAC, "must be more powerful than current interagency working groups and must have unfettered access to the President and his senior advisors." RANSAC also asserted the importance of "integrating cooperative threat reduction activities into the concept of homeland defense and the war on terrorism. These programs are a first line of defense against WMD threats to the US and its allies, and they should be considered high-priority national security activities, not foreign aid." The organization also said that congress should work to provide the president with a permanent authority to waive certification requirements, instead of the three-year authority he currently has. RANSAC also stressed the importance of keeping key CTR programs at least at current funding levels. In the proposed non-proliferation budget for 2004, many vital security upgrade efforts had their funding cut to pay for new initiatives. "If terrorists or hostile regimes should gain access to the world's largest exposed WMD stockpiles because of inertia, distraction, or risk aversion on the part of our leaders," the RANSAC statement concludes, "our security will suffer despite other victories in the war on terrorism, and the judgment of history will indeed be harsh." return to menu B. Multilateral Threat Reduction 1. Agreement Reached On Dealing With Nuclear Waste In Russia's Kola Peninsula The four-year negotiations on an international agreement that will solve the Russian nuclear waste problem were concluded in Moscow on Sunday. Plans call for the agreement to be signed before the next G8 summit, which will be held in June. According to the new agreement, dubbed the Multilateral Nuclear Environmental Program in the Russian Federation, the EU Commission and willing nations will provide financial assistance for improvements in the security of Russian nuclear power plants. The funding will also be directed at dismantling the nuclear reactors of decommissioned nuclear submarines, and at furthering plans for storage of spent nuclear fuel. The agreement covers all of Russia, but the first steps will be realized in Murmansk and elsewhere on the Kola Peninsula. After the agreement has been signed, the work will begin quickly, as plans already exist and the necessary funding for the projects has been put aside. The MNEPR program will require billions of euros of funding over the course of several years. The program was first initiated four years ago, but the final agreement was reached within a couple of months after Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Kasyanov decided to speed up the process. The final problems that were solved in the negotiations concerned the responsibility of the donor nations if any nuclear accidents occur during the projects, and whether or not Russia could levy any customs charges or taxes on the donations. The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development is one of the largest sources of financing in the program. Norway also has plans to invest considerably in removing the nuclear waste threats of the Kola Peninsula. From Finland's point of view, the most important target for improvements is the Polyarnyi Zor nuclear power plant in Kola. The old power plant cannot be renovated much, but its fire safety needs to be improved. return to menu C. Russia-U.S. 1. Ivanov Ridicules 'War of Liberation' Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov warned the United States on Wednesday not to start a propaganda war against Russia and ridiculed Washington's efforts to portray the U.S.-led military campaign in Iraq as a war of liberation. As well as that outburst of criticism reminiscent of the Cold War, Ivanov called for the ratification of a U.S.-Russian arms reduction treaty to be delayed until the flare-up in tensions between the two countries over Iraq subsides. "Maybe now is not the right moment psychologically to bring this document up for ratification," Ivanov said in a speech to the Federation Council, the upper house of parliament. While calling for the postponement, Ivanov was careful to stress the importance of eventually ratifying the Moscow Treaty, which Presidents Vladimir Putin and George W. Bush signed last May. The agreement requires Russia and the United States to cut their strategic nuclear arsenals by about two-thirds. "This treaty answers Russia's interests. The Foreign Ministry believes that this document should be ratified, and we will present it for ratification," Ivanov said. The State Duma, the lower house of parliament, put the ratification of the treaty on the backburner last week. U.S. Ambassador to Russia Alexander Vershbow conceded Wednesday that the war in Iraq has led to "serious tensions" in U.S.-Russian relations but promised: "We will do everything we can to minimize the damage," Interfax reported. He said the Moscow Treaty was important for both the United States and Russia and that Russia would soon ratify it. The U.S. Congress ratified the treaty earlier this month. The treaty needs to be ratified by both houses of parliament. Just last week pro-Kremlin lawmakers such as Mikhail Margelov, the chairman of the Federation Council's international affairs committee, were expressing hope that it would be ratified within days despite the tensions over Iraq. Those hopes faded Wednesday as the more reserved Federation Council followed the Duma's lead and passed a resolution condemning the war. After Ivanov's critical speech, senators even amended the resolution to include stronger language such as the word "aggression" -- despite a protest by Margelov that the word should be used only if the war was condemned by the UN Security Council. In his speech, Ivanov reiterated Russia's position that by waging war without the UN Security Council's blessing, the U.S.-led coalition is "in violation of international law." He also said the war has become a threat to international stability. Ivanov then slammed the United States for growing civilian casualties in Iraq and mocked Bush's pre-war pledge that the day of liberation for the Iraqi people was coming. "It is becoming clear that the attempts to present the military action against Iraq as a triumphant campaign for the liberation of the Iraqi people with minimal casualties and destruction are far from the reality," Ivanov said. The foreign minister repeated the Kremlin's stance that the Iraq crisis should be returned to the UN Security Council and called for the United Nations to lead humanitarian relief efforts in Iraq. The Security Council began a debate Wednesday over the UN's humanitarian role in Iraq. After condemning the war, Ivanov criticized the Bush administration for airing allegations that Russian companies had supplied Saddam Hussein's regime with defense equipment in violation of a UN arms embargo. "We are seriously concerned about attempts by certain circles in the United States to drag Russia into an information war over Iraq by making unfounded allegations that Russian companies have supplied Iraq with some defense equipment," Ivanov said. The Bush administration last week accused Russia of failing to stop sales to Iraq of night vision goggles, navigation jammers and anti-tank missiles by three Russian companies. A senior U.S. diplomat on Wednesday confirmed a Sunday report in The Washington Post that identified two of the companies as KBP of Tula and Moscow's Aviakonversiya and said Aviakonversiya had personnel in Iraq during the first days of the war. Aviakonversiya and KBP deny the claims. "We have very hard information that directly contradicts what has been said and we stand by that information," said the diplomat, who asked not to be named. He said the Bush administration lodged an official complaint in fall 2002. But he stressed that Washington only decided to go public with the accusations now because of its increasing frustration over Moscow's failure to stop the sales -- not because of Moscow's opposition to the war in Iraq. "We got progressively more frustrated that the Russian side was not investigating the cases seriously enough. And so it was at that point that we decided to express a little of that discontent publicly," the diplomat said at a press briefing in Moscow. "There are strong feelings about this, particularly in the military. The timing reflected the fact that we got further unsatisfactory replies at high levels at the end of last week," he said. Bush complained about the sales during a telephone conversation with Putin on Monday. Putin denied that Russian companies might have breached UN sanctions and then tried to turn the tables by presenting Bush with "questions on similar problems that have not been answered yet," according to a Kremlin account of the phone call. The Kremlin statement did not elaborate, but Nuclear Power Minister Alexander Rumyantsev and Defense Minister Sergei Ivanov hinted that the problems might include the alleged sale of nuclear equipment to Iran by Urenco, a British-Dutch consortium. "We also have complaints against the United States," Rumyantsev told reporters Wednesday. "It is always criticizing us, but its close economic partners supply Iran with sensitive technology." Urenco is thought to have supplied centrifuges to Iran that could be used to produce weapons-grade uranium. Rumyantsev insisted, however, that the Iraq tensions have not hurt U.S.-Russian cooperation in nuclear security. Rumyantsev is among a number of Russian officials who have criticized the war but expressed hope that ties with Washington will remain strong. Sharp statements such as Ivanov's in the Federation Council on Wednesday are aimed at "the home front" rather than a reflection of the Kremlin's real policy toward the United States, the senior U.S. diplomat said. "We also recognize that for the Russian leadership there is a need to project a position of principle to the domestic audience and to the international community. But at the same time we take encouragement from discussions in private conversations that show determination ... to try to manage to keep the larger relationship on course," the diplomat said. A recent poll, meanwhile, shows a drastic rise in anti-U.S. sentiment over the war. Some 45 percent of those questioned said they sympathize with Iraq, and 55 percent voiced a negative attitude toward the United States. Only 5 percent of 1,600 respondents in a nationwide poll completed earlier this week by VTsIOM said they sympathize with the United States. The poll had a margin of error of 3.4 percentage points. The figures exceed the previous peak in anti-U.S. feelings during NATO's 1999 airstrikes against the former Yugoslavia. At the time, the same polling agency found 53 percent of Russians had a negative view of the United States. Last summer, only 15 percent had a negative attitude toward the United States. return to menu 2. U.S.-Russian Relations Chilliest Since Cold War WASHINGTON - Russia stepped up its criticism of the U.S.-led war in Iraq Wednesday as foreign policy analysts warned that U.S.-Russia relations are approaching a post-Cold War low that could have serious repercussions in the future. U.S. and British efforts to overthrow Saddam Hussein's regime are "illegal and doomed to failure," Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov told Russian legislators Wednesday. "What democracy are they talking about when they are trying to completely destroy the country?" The Russian Foreign Ministry released a statement demanding an end to the war, in light of reports that a U.S. missile attack killed 14 Iraqi civilians in Baghdad. The harsh statements came as tensions continue to mount between the United States and Russia. In recent days, the Russian parliament refused to ratify a key nuclear disarmament treaty the U.S. Senate has already approved, and Russian diplomats have blocked U.S. efforts to involve the United Nations in overseeing humanitarian aid in Iraq. For their part, U.S. officials have accused Russia of aiding the Iraqi war effort with sales of key military items. A serious falling-out between the two nations threatens U.S.-Russian cooperation on several issues, including Russian help the United States has counted on in anti-terrorism efforts in central Asia. President Bush met Russian President Vladimir Putin in Slovenia in 2001 and famously said he had looked into Putin's eyes and "was able to get a sense of his soul." But U.S. officials say their view of Putin's soul is more opaque at the moment. Washington and Moscow had similar disagreements about the U.S.-led air attack on Yugoslavia in 1999, but were able to restore good relations. In the current crisis, however, there is a sense the dispute could spin out of control. U.S. Ambassador to Russia Alexander Vershbow has said the rift has created "serious tension." Not only did Moscow stun the White House by resolutely opposing direct United Nations backing for the war, but this week, the administration accused Russian companies of providing Iraq with anti-tank guided missiles, satellite jamming devices and night-vision goggles. Bush called Putin to complain about the alleged sales. Russia denied those charges, though Secretary of State Colin Powell said Ivanov, in a phone conversation Wednesday, promised a full investigation and said Russia does not "want this to be an irritant in our relationship." The public disagreements have led some veteran U.S.-Russia watchers to fear that if the increasingly heated rhetoric does not cool soon, the relationship could suffer permanent damage. "Both sides have lots at stake to not allow the relationship to deteriorate further," says Ariel Cohen, a Russia analyst at the Heritage Foundation. "Things are worse than they should have been." Diplomats representing countries on the U.N. Security Council say a large part of the problem resulted from a basic miscalculation by the Bush administration when it assumed Putin would not veto a council resolution that would lead to war in Iraq. Veto threats by Russia and France helped force the United States and Britain to withdraw the resolution without a vote on March 17, a major diplomatic embarrassment. Diplomats say Washington assumed Russia would abstain, and never offered Putin any written guarantees that he would be able to recover more than $20 billion in Russian debt and oil contracts in a post-Saddam Iraq. Another contributing factor: Putin has suffered strong criticism at home in the wake of Bush's decision to withdraw from the 1974 Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty. Many in Russia feel that Putin has received little in return for his strong support for Bush since the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. Sentiment in Russia has tilted sharply against the United States. A poll conducted earlier this week found a dramatic rise of anti-American sentiment, with 55% of Russians saying they view the United States negatively, up from 15% in a similar poll last summer. return to menu 3. Editorial: Ivanov Tries To Trade Strategic Offensive Reductions Treaty For End To War In Iraq Addressing the Federation Council yesterday, Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov proposed postponing ratification of the Strategic Offensive Reductions Treaty. "The timing is psychologically wrong," the minister said. "We will return to the Strategic Offensive Reductions Treaty when the resolution of the Iraq crisis has returned to the jurisdiction of the UN Security Council." Ivanov repeated President Vladimir Putin's words that the war in Iraq is a grave political error. This phrase of Putin's unnerved Washington a week ago. "Russia will continue objecting to all attempts to directly or indirectly legitimize the use of force against Iraq or shift responsibility for it onto the international community represented by the UN," Ivanov announced. Moscow will view all draft resolutions on Iraq presented to the UN Security Council from this angle. Ivanov emphasized that "Moscow has the right to strive to ensure that its legitimate economic interests in Iraq are respected", and denied Washington's claims that Russian companies had allegedly exported arms to Iraq in defiance of the embargo. Observers view Ivanov's speech in the Federation Council as extremely sharply-worded. There are speculations in Moscow and in the West that Russia is on the verge of declaring a diplomatic war on the United States. Russian-US relations deteriorated noticeably over the allegations that Russian-made military equipment had been exported to Iraq. From the political angle, events have taken the worst possible turn for Russia. By linking ratification of the Strategic Offensive Reductions Treaty with the war in Iraq, Russian diplomacy is proposing to shelve a treaty that it acknowledges as being in Russia's own interests. As for the psychological aspect of the matter (Ivanov himself mentioned this), it may deteriorate - and will certainly deteriorate if the United States prevents Russia from taking part in post-war restoration of Iraq. "I can tell you right here and now that this treaty promotes the interests of Russia and the United States. Moreover, it does not encroach on the signatories' security," Ivanov said on the eve of the signing of the Strategic Offensive Reductions Treaty. This assessment of the treaty remains true, war or no war. The Strategic Offensive Reductions Treaty cannot be a tool to be used by Russia for the purpose of promoting its interests in Iraq. On the other hand, Ivanov's statement may well become an additional irritant in Russian-US relations. Russian and American observers are using the term "Cold War" more and more frequently in connection with the future of Russian-US relations. The United States criticized France and Germany as its least reliable partners before the war began. But now it is Russia that is getting all blame. Anti-American rhetoric from Paris and Berlin is not as loud as before. And damage to trans-Atlantic relations, whose strategic nature is never doubted by Washington or Europe, cannot be compared with the political and economic risks Russia is taking. In short, Moscow is running the risk of being left isolated. return to menu D. Russia-Iran 1. U.S. Criticism of Russian Nuclear Aid Is Unfair, Rumyantsev Says Russian Atomic Energy Minister Alexander Rumyantsev has accused the United States of being hypocritical in its criticism of Russia for aiding Iran's nuclear program while ignoring similar activities by Western countries, Reuters reported today. "We also have complaints against the United States," Rumyantsev said. "It is always criticizing us, but its close economic partners supply Iran with sensitive technology," he added. Rumyantsev has said he was concerned about recent reports that a gas centrifuge, recently found during an International Atomic Energy Agency inspection, was similar to those produced by the British company Urenco, according to the London Guardian. The centrifuge could be used to enrich uranium for both civilian and military purposes. "According to specialists, such equipment could not be produced by Iran itself and it is similar to that which Urenco has produced," a spokesman for Rumyantsev said. Urenco, however, has denied that it produced centrifuges for Iran. Iran yesterday denied that it had purchased uranium-enrichment equipment from Western companies. "The nuclear activities of the Islamic Republic are indigenous and Iran uses its own know-how and possibilities," Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Hamid Reza Asefi said. return to menu 2. Iran Surprised By "Irresponsible" Remarks Of Russian Officials Iran's Foreign Ministry spokesman Hamid Reza Asefi on Thursday said he was surprised by the "irresponsible" remarks of Russian officials who have claimed a Western company had supplied uranium enrichment equipment to the Islamic Republic. "The nuclear activities of the Islamic Republic are indigenous and Iran uses its own know-how and possibilities (to build a complete nuclear energy cycle)," he said. Asefi also reiterated that "nuclear activities of the Islamic Republic are very transparent and intended for peaceful purposes". The official was apparently reacting to Russian officials' recent claims, including those of Energy Minister Alexander Rumyantsev, who was reported Wednesday as saying that US "is always criticizing us, but its close economic partners supply Iran with sensitive technology". Rumyantsev was referring to media reports that an Iranian gas centrifuge, a sophisticated apparatus able to enrich uranium for both power stations and weapons, was made by Western companies. "The spiteful reports published in recent days in some circles as well as the media serve the ominous objectives of the Zionist (Israeli) regime and are intended to deviate the public opinion," Asefi said. A delegation from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) last month inspected the gas centrifuge in central Natanz, and Rumyantsev said Iran's cooperation with the IAEA showed it was not secretly developing nuclear weapons. "Iran is now within the framework of IAEA laws," he said. Washington has whipped up its anti-Iran rhetoric after President Mohammad Khatami made public Tehran's plans for a complete nuclear fuel cycle. The announcement came shortly after US officials were cited late last year as alleging that American satellites had spotted two sites in Arak and Natanz which suggested they could be used for making nuclear weapons. Washington suspects Tehran's ambitions, arguing, "Iran's costly pursuit of a complete nuclear fuel cycle only makes sense if it's in support of a nuclear weapons program." US says Iran's nuclear programs, while the country sits on some of the biggest oil and gas reserves of the world, are questionable. Iran says it wants the programs as part of the country's bid to generate 6,000 megawatts of electricity to cope with the rising energy demand in the 65-million-nation in the next 20 years, while its gas and oil reserves are becoming overstretched. return to menu 3. Russia Vows to Continue Helping Iran Nuclear Power Plant Russia has said it intends to continue working with Iran on nuclear-energy projects, despite objections from the United States. Moscow's Atomic Energy Minister, Alexander Rumyantsev, told reporters Wednesday Russia has agreed to help Iran finish building its first nuclear reactor, and might help build a second, near the city of Bushehr. The United States fears the plant could be used to develop nuclear weapons. But Mr. Rumyantsev said Wednesday Iran's nuclear development complies with standards set out by the International Atomic Energy Agency, which monitors nuclear plants for unauthorized weapons production. Mr. Rumyantsev also said the war in Iraq is not affecting Russian cooperation with the United States on nuclear security. He noted Russia is complying with an agreement with the United States to shut down at least two Russian nuclear plants the United States considers threatening. return to menu 4. Russia Slams US On Iran Nuke Program MOSCOW - Moscow's top nuclear power official accused Washington on Wednesday of dual standards in criticizing Russian sales of nuclear technology to Iran while ignoring similar activity by Western companies. Russia's technology sales and construction of a power station at Bushehr in southwest Iran have long irritated the United States, which accuses Tehran of trying to acquire nuclear weapons. President George W. Bush places Iran in an "axis of evil" alongside Iraq and North Korea. "We also have complaints against the United States," Atomic Energy Minister Alexander Rumyantsev told reporters. "It is always criticizing us, but its close economic partners supply Iran with sensitive technology." He was referring to media reports that an Iranian gas centrifuge, a sophisticated apparatus able to enrich uranium for both power stations and weapons, was made by Western companies. A delegation from the U.N. nuclear watchdog, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), last month inspected the gas centrifuge, and Rumyantsev said Iran's cooperation with the IAEA showed it was not secretly developing nuclear weapons. "Iran is now within the framework of IAEA laws," he said. Washington says Iran, the world's fourth largest oil producer, needs no nuclear power and that the program is a front for producing weapons. U.S. legislation forbids funding for Russia's cash-strapped space program while it cooperates with Iran. Rumyantsev was confident that Russian criticism of the U.S.-led military campaign in Iraq would have no effect on the close relations with Washington forged after the September 11, 2001 attacks on U.S. landmarks. "This does not touch the basic trend of our cooperation," he said. Rumyantsev was presenting a summary of his ministry's 2002 results, which showed that Russia was pressing ahead with construction of nuclear power stations in China, India and Iran. Its exports hit $2.62 billion in 2002. "This year we plan to raise our exports to $3 billion," he said, specifying other work Moscow hoped to complete in Iran. "Russia is ready to conduct technical and economic analysis on building a second reactor at Bushehr...to work with Iran on security issues, and to discuss the use of nuclear technology in medicine and agriculture," he said. return to menu E. Nuclear Submarine Dismantlement 1. Norway And UK Ready To Fund Multipurpose N-Subs Disposition At Zverdochka Shipyard March 26-27 Severodvinsk hosted an international workshop "Nuclear Submarine Disposition Issues at North-West Russia", as news agency REGNUM informed. The workshop was participated by over 30 experts from the US, the UK, Italy, Norway, Canada, Belgium and other countries. The attendees made a visit to the defense-related shipyard Zvezdochka to be shown to the full cycle of nuclear subs disposition, in particular, the chamber where a multi-purpose Murena submarine (667B design; "Delta-1 as per NATO classification) is being disposed of. During the recent decade Zvezdochka disposed of 19 subs with five of them at the US expense. This year the shipyard plans to dispose of 2 nuclear subs under Minatom of Russia financing. According to Nikolai Kalistratov, the Director General, the shipyard has developed the process schematic to remove the reactor pressure vessel from the sub's hull and transport it off-site, the remaining metal being reprocessed. All components of the process chain have been developed using the US and Norwegian funds. As Torbjorn Norendahl, the Contact Expert Group Leader, said Norway and the UK are prepared to continue financing the multipurpose N-subs disposition at Zvezdochka shipyard. return to menu 2. G-8 Countries Discuss Utilization of Russian All-Purpose Nuclear Submarines ARKHANGELSK, March 27. A two-week international seminar on the problem of utilizing all-purpose nuclear submarines in the North-West Federal District of Russia opened yesterday in Severodvinsk at the Zvezdochka shipyard. The seminar is featuring at least 30 foreign specialists from G-8 countries (Belgium, Norway, Great Britain, the US), Canada and Italy as well as around 60 Russian specialists and scientists. According to Zvezdochka Press Secretary Nadezhda Shcherbinina, only strategic nuclear submarines have been utilized by enterprises in the defense industry of the North-West Federal District until now. The US and Norway have provided financial assistance in this area. The Russian Ministry for Atomic Energy believed it was necessary to discuss the problem of using all-purpose nuclear submarines as many of the submarines currently water-borne contain unprocessed fuel, which is not only dangerous for the North-West Federal District but for the whole international community. return to menu F. Russian Nuclear Forces 1. Topol Missile Launched From Plesetsk A practice launch of a Topol intercontinental ballistic missile was made from Plesetsk, the press service of the Russian Space Forces told Interfax on Thursday. "Teams of the Space Forces and Strategic Missile Troops launched a Topol (RS-12M) intercontinental ballistic missile. The launch was conducted from a mobile self-propelled launcher at 12:27 Moscow time from the Plesetsk state experimental spaceport by a team of the Russian Strategic Missile Forces," the press service said. return to menu 2. Russia Test-Fires Ballistic Missile MOSCOW - Russia's Space Forces and Strategic Rocket Forces test-fired a Topol intercontinental ballistic missile on Thursday during a training exercise at the northern Plesetsk cosmodrome. The Defense Ministry press service refused to identify the target for the RS-12M missile, which blasted off during a command staff exercise. Test-launched missiles are usually directed to the Kamchatka Peninsula in the Russian Far East. A Defense Ministry duty officer said that the missile was 18 years old. The missile was launched from a self-propelled truck mount, the ITAR-Tass news agency reported. return to menu G. Nuclear Industry 1. OMZ Acquisitions Boost Its Nuclear Know-How United Heavy Machinery, the country's leading engineering company, announced the purchase of significant stakes in two nuclear power engineering companies Thursday, making it one of world's largest contractors. United Heavy Machinery, or OMZ, this week finished the first stage of corporate restructuring intended to focus the company's business on two areas: nuclear power plant equipment and oil, gas and shipbuilding. "We intend to further develop this segment by strengthening our engineering base in the nuclear sector and expanding OMZ's export opportunities," OMZ general director Kakha Bendukidze said in a statement. Nuclear power plant equipment accounts for about 18 percent of the company's sales. OMZ in January bought a 19.9 percent stake in Atomenergoexport, or AEE, the country's largest exporter of nuclear power plant equipment and services, and a 50.94 percent stake in the smaller Zarubezhenergoproekt research and development institute. OMZ did not disclose how much it paid for the stakes. AEE, a near monopoly on exporting turnkey solutions in the nuclear power plant sector, has been one of OMZ's largest customers and handled all of OMZ's nuclear export sales. AEE has representative offices in Europe, China, Iran and India. OMZ is currently involved in three major nuclear power plant projects overseas -- in India, China and Iran -- and is participating in a consortium to build a power station in Finland. AEE together with its subsidiary Atomstroyexport, one of the country's largest contractors in the nuclear power industry, had $640 million in exports in 2002 and expects that exports will reach $800 million this year. The two companies had $2.9 billion worth of future projects on their order book as of March 15. OMZ said it may increase its investment in AEE to a controlling stake. Though formally its stake is under 20 percent, OMZ effectively owns 40 percent of AEE because just over half of the export firm's shares are held by AEE's subsidiaries, OMZ said. OMZ promised to release details of the AEE deal in May, after Ernst & Young completes due diligence to estimate how the acquisition would affect OMZ's bottom line. Analysts said the acquisitions looked good but reserved final judgement until the price tag is announced. "Previously, OMZ has been quite thrifty in its purchases," said Vladimir Savov of Brunswick UBS Warburg. "OMZ is moving away from the pure production of equipment, which is not the highest margin business in the sector, and ... closer to becoming a provider of turnkey solutions, services and know-how for nuclear power plants." "They're buying a solid management team and a going concern, which is important for a smallish business like OMZ that are expanding rapidly," said Rob Edwards of Renaissance Capital. return to menu 2. Armenian Nuclear Plant To Load Fuel In April Armenian Nuclear Power Plant, which accounts for 40% of the electricity produced in the country, will be halted for planned maintenance and to have additional fuel loaded in the middle of April this year, a source in the press service at the Armenian Energy Ministry told Interfax. The press service said that from January 23 Armenian Nuclear Power Plant has been operating on the remainder of its fuel, which should be sufficient for 2.5 months. UES, to which management of the nuclear plant's cash flows will be transferred, will buy and supply a new consignment of fuel. As reported earlier, the decision to transfer management of the plant's cash flows to the Russian company was reached at a meeting of the Russian-Armenian intergovernmental commission for economic cooperation in Yerevan on February 5 this year. The source said that the sides plan to sign the corresponding contract at the start of April. Debt owed by the nuclear plant for Russian nuclear fuel currently amounts to about $40 million. According to agreements between the sides, the claim on this debt will be transferred to UES subsidiary - RAO Nordic. Of the total debt, Armenenergo will pay $25 million by transferring property at the Sevan-Prazdansky hydroelectric plant to RAO Nordic. It is planned to pay the remaining $15 million over two years from revenue from the sale of electricity on the domestic market. The nuclear power plant produced 2.27 billion kWh of electricity in 2002. return to menu 3. Russian Nuclear Power Ministry's Exports To Make US $3 Billion In 2003 This year Russia's Nuclear Power Ministry plans to export 3 billion dollars' worth of products, Nuclear Power Minister Alexander Rumyantsev said in a RIA Novosti interview Wednesday. "Of this sum we expect to gain between 700 and 800 million dollars from supplies of fresh fuel elements for foreign nuclear power plants, 450 million dollars for shipments to the United States of low-enrichment uranium processed from high-enrichment uranium. The rest will come from the sale of stable radioactive isotopes and other components of fissionable materials to be used in peaceful technologies", he said. As regards prospects for Russia's involvement in construction of new nuclear power units abroad, Rumyantsev said that his ministry is going to participate in a tender for building a power unit in Finland and the second unit for the Bushehr nuclear power plant in Iran. "We will also continue building nuclear power facilities in India and China", said Alexander Rumyantsev. return to menu H. Announcements 1. Transcript of Replies by Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation Igor Ivanov to Questions After His Speech to the Federation Council of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation, Moscow, March 26, 2003 (excerpted) [...] Question: The Federation Council yesterday appealed to the State Duma challenging its decision to link the issue of Iraq with the ratification of SOR, asking it to consider the issue because we believe that the treaty is in the interests of Russia. What is the position of the Foreign Ministry and what do you do in your work with the State Duma in order to persuade it not to make this mistake? Do you know that a woman, Russian citizen, on a Kaliningrad-Moscow train was beaten up by Lithuanian borderguards for trying to travel with an old-type passport? Has the Foreign Ministry taken any measures with regard to Lithuania? Foreign Minister Ivanov: SOR meets Russian interests. We had discussed it for a long time at various levels. In the opinion of the Foreign Ministry, the document must be ratified. We will press for its ratification. At the same time it is not the best moment psychologically for putting it up for ratification. If we wait a little and bend all our efforts to stopping the war we will be able to attend to this issue later. And I appeal to the Federation Council members in advance to back the ratification of this document which is important for our security. return to menu 2. U.S. Assistance Programs In Europe: An Assessment (excerpted) [...] Without question, the Defense Department's Cooperative Threat Reduction (CTR) and the Energy Department's Material Protection, Control and Accounting (MPC&A) programs remain at the core of our security and law enforcement assistance priorities with Russia and the other former Soviet states. Under CTR, since 1992, we have provided over $4 billion in assistance to these states. In FY 2004, DOD has requested $450.8 million in CTR assistance, a significant increase from the $414.4 million in FY 2003, with the largest increase requested to support construction of the Chemical Weapons destruction facility at Shchuch'ye to destroy nerve agent filled munitions. DOD/CTR's FY 2004 funding request also includes funding for the CTR/Weapons of Mass Destruction Proliferation Prevention Initiative (WMD-PPI) to address border security issues. The State Department is working closely with DOD to ensure this effort complements/supplements other U.S. assistance. Assistance under the Department of Energy Material Protection Control and Accounting program totals an estimated $1.4 billion since 1992. The MPC&A program continues to address one of the highest priority threats to U.S. and international security -- the threat of nuclear materials proliferation. As such, the FY 2004 request, at $252 million, also reflects an increase from FY 2003 levels. Another nonproliferation program, the State Department Export Control and Related Border Security Program, also expanded significantly since September 2001. The State Department FY 2004 budget request reflects increased funding in both the FREEDOM Support Act and Nonproliferation, Anti-Terrorism, Demining and Related Programs (NADR) accounts to address the porous borders of Eastern Europe, the Balkans and the former Soviet States, particularly in Central Asia and the Caucasus. This program has provided concrete equipment and training -- including radios to enhance communications, vehicles, patrol boats and helicopters to enhance transport and patrol capabilities, and infrastructure to ensure that border posts have generators, radiation detectors and other critical equipment to stop illicit weapons trafficking. The State Department's Science Centers, Civilian Research and Development Foundation, and Biological Weapons Redirection nonproliferation programs also will continue in FY 2004 to help redirect the efforts of former Soviet weapons scientists and institutes toward civilian purposes. These programs are increasingly moving toward long-term self-sustainability. In this past year, however, serious concerns about potential Russian modernization beyond legitimate defense needs, as well as implementation issues including access to facilities and lack of confidence and credibility in Russian program management, delayed or prevented some of these assistance programs from making much progress. Waiver authority provided by Congress for CTR and Title V of the FREEDOM Support Act activities has allowed these programs to continue in FY 2002 and 2003 as their benefits were determined to outweigh the risks in U.S. national security interests. The Administration has requested this waiver authority again for FY 2004 and I urge you to support this request. In addition, I would urge you to support a return of the CTR certification process to an annual, rather than a fiscal year basis. Under the law revised last year, we may only certify that Eurasian states have met the CTR legislative criteria after the beginning of every new fiscal year on 1 October. Until the Secretary has had the opportunity to review to what extent CTR partner countries have met the legislative criteria during a fiscal year, however, this will entail unnecessary delays in obligating assistance and interrupt multi-year programs. A return to an annual certification process will do much to ensure continuity, and efficiency in CTR assistance obligations. The scale and urgency of the proliferation threat has been recognized and addressed under these nonproliferation programs, however, the Administration has taken the lead to seek substantially increased nonproliferation assistance for the Eurasian states from other international donors. The President spearheaded the decision by the G-8 Leaders last June to commit up to $20 billion over 10 years for assistance to Eurasia to reduce threats from weapons of mass destruction, weapons materials and expertise. The United States has pledged to provide half that total. This level of assistance will need Congressional support to succeed and again, we urge you to continue to support this effort. [...] return to menu 3. Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Meets Executive Secretary of the Preparatory Commission of the Organization for the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty Deputy Foreign Minister of the Russian Federation Georgy Mamedov received the Executive Secretary of the Preparatory Commission of the Organization for the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty (CTBT) Wolfgang Hoffman on March 26. The situation around CTBT was discussed in the broad context of the present tense situation in the world that makes it particularly important to strengthen international-legal, multilateral instruments of counteracting the spread of mass destruction weapons. The Russian side stressed the intense efforts being exerted by Moscow to ensure that the Treaty comes into force at an early date. Satisfaction was expressed with the activities of the CTBTO Preparatory Commission and its provisional technical secretariat on creating a CTBT verification mechanism. A common opinion was expressed on the need to bring active diplomatic pressure on those countries which have not yet ratified or have not signed CTBT and on which its coming into force depends. At the same time, it is inadmissible to supplant political work in the legal field with campaigns of intimidation, let alone "counterproliferation by force". The importance was stressed of the third Conference for the introduction of CTBT scheduled for September of this year. Wolfgang Hoffman praised the active and principled position of Russia in support of CTBT. He also expressed gratitude for the opportunity afforded by the Russian side to visit the Central Test Range on Novaya Zemlya stressing that this confirms its openness on the issues of nuclear disarmament and adherence to the letter and the spirit of the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty. return to menu I. Links of Interest 1. Russian Nuclear Exports to Iran: U.S. Policy Change Needed return to menu 2. Nuclear Smuggling: Patterns and Responses DISCLAIMER: Nuclear News is presented for informational purposes only. Views presented in any given article are those of the individual author or source and not of RANSAC. RANSAC takes no responsibility for the technical accuracy of information contained in any article presented in Nuclear News. RANSAC's Nuclear News is compiled two to three times weekly. If you would like to be removed from our mailing list or if you have questions/comments/concerns, please reply to news@216.119.87.134 |
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