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RANSAC Nuclear News, July 3, 2003 Compiled By: Billy Magnuson A. Multilateral Threat Reduction
 A. Multilateral Threat Reduction 1. Russia, Norway Sign First Contract to Scrap Two RF Nuke Subs Russia and Norway have signed the first contract to scrap two Russian nuclear submarines. The Russian Atomic Energy Minister signed the first contract with the Norwegian government on the scrapping and disposal of two Russian Shchuka-class (Viktor III by NATO classification) nuclear submarines of the Northern Fleet, Deputy Minister Sergei Antipov told Itar-Tass on Monday. "This contract has been preparing since the beginning of the year 2003 within the framework of bilateral cooperation in ensuring radiation safety on Norway's initiative. On June 12, after the sides coordinated all provisions of the contract, they reached mutual understanding and signed the document," the deputy minister said. According to the ministry, "The Norwegian government provided 10 million euros for the disposal of Russian nuclear submarines and this funding will be transferred to the accounts of two Russian ship repair plants in Murmansk and Severodvinsk." The contract was also signed by Norwegian Deputy Foreign Minister Kim Traavik. Return to Menu B. Nuclear Safety 1. Rushailo Not Satisfied With Level of Russia's Chemical Security A two-day interdepartmental science-practical conference titled Problems of Chemical Security of the Russian Federation concluded in Tambov on Wednesday, press service of the Tambov Region governor told RIA Novosti. The interdepartmental conference is part of the preparation for the joint session of the Russian Federation Council and the State Council Presidium devoted to this issue, which will be held in October 2003. The conference was attended by Secretary of the Russian Security Council Vladimir Rushailo, plenipotentiary representative of the Russian president in the Central federal district Georgy Poltavchenko, governors of Russia's central regions, officials from the ministries of emergencies, nature, atomic industry, justice, defence, interior and others, and representatives of the Russian Academy of Sciences. According to Rushailo, who delivered a speech at the conference, man-caused and natural threats along with acts of terror have become the most feasible and large-scale threats to national security of the Russian Federation in the recent years. The measures taken currently are not effective, according to the Security Council secretary, as "they are not preventive." Return to Menu 2. Kyrgyzstan Calls For Urgent Aid to Avert Nuclear Risk in Central Asian Valley A senior Kyrgyz official appealed Monday for urgent help to avert the danger posed by a Soviet-era uranium mine threatening Central Asia's densely populated and seismically unstable Ferghana Valley. "Ecological catastrophe could hit the whole Ferghana Valley" as a result of the mine on the banks of the Maily-Su river, which flows into Andzhan in neighbouring Uzbekistan, Amarkul Aitaliyev, a senior official at Kyrgyzstan's ecology and emergency situations ministry, told journalists. Aitaliyev's comments followed a Franco-Belgian investigation sponsored by the European Union into the disused mine. Observers have said has the mine and its environmental fallout have the potential to aggravate already tense relations in Ferghana -- Central Asia's main population centre shared by Uzbekistan, Kyrygyzstan and Tajikistan. Uranium from the mine was enriched locally until its closure in 1960, and the resultant leftovers were buried in hillside pits which are prone to flooding and could leak into the river due to frequent avalanches. Social stigma has become attached to residents of the impoverished Maily-Su district due to their alleged health problems resulting from the mine. "In the event of natural disaster radiation levels in the Ferghana Valley could seriously worsen," Hildegarde Vandenhove of Belgium's Centre for Nuclear Research, said. The World Bank has allocated five million dollars (4.3 million euros) to a variety of preventive measures to be carried out in 2004 but much more money and expertise will be needed to fully stabilise the situation, Aitaliyev said. Return to Menu C. Strategic Arms Reduction 1. Russia and Ukraine Follow START Provisions Today in Kiev, Russian Defense Minister Sergey Ivanov and his Ukrainian counterpart Yevgeny Marchuk have signed an agreement on the procedure of dismantling and returning aircraft equipment located at repair shops of the Russian and Ukrainian Defense Ministries. According to Ivanov, this agreement has been made in accordance with the provisions of the Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty. Speaking about the agreement on deploying the Russian Black Sea Fleet in the Crimea, the Ukrainian Defense Minister admitted that there were some problems concerning the technology of identifying warships in the Sevastopol bay. Return to Menu D. U.S.-Russia 1. Bush, Putin Discuss Iran, North Korea President Bush reported progress with Russia on Wednesday in his efforts to bring diplomatic pressure to bear against Iran and North Korea to dismantle nuclear programs. Bush spoke to Russian President Vladimir Putin for 15 minutes. Bush told reporters Iran and North Korea were two key subjects. Putin has been cool to U.S. demands that Russia stop assisting Iran's civilian nuclear program. But Putin has agreed that Iran should cooperate with demands from the U.N. International Atomic Energy Agency for more intrusive inspections to determine if Tehran is trying to build a nuclear weapon. "I thanked him for keeping the pressure on the Iranian government to dismantle any notions they might have of building a nuclear weapon," Bush said. "And we're making progress on that front." Bush said Putin also agreed that the best way to deal with North Korea is to do so in a multinational forum. North Korea wants to negotiate directly with the United States over its nuclear weapons program but Washington wants to include China, Japan, South Korea and possibly Russia in any talks. "It's helpful to be able to cooperate with Russia in dealing with matters of international security," Bush said. Return to Menu 2. Preferential Treatment "Punish France, ignore Germany, forgive Russia." Most of the commentary on Condoleezza Rice's alleged statement about how the United States planned to treat the three European countries that defied it on Iraq focused on its apparent crassness. But the more important issue was: Why such different treatment for the three countries, all of whom were equally opposed to the war? The answer is old-fashioned power politics: Rice believes that, of the three, Russia looms largest in America's future. She is almost certainly right. Almost all the news coming out of Russia these days casts the country in a negative light. This past week, Russia made headlines when its last independent television news channel, TV-6, lost its license and was replaced with a sports channel. Human rights groups worry that the media outlets that have not yet been shut down or brought under state control are cowed by the Kremlin into reporting favorably. Chechnya continues to smolder, despite the passage there in March of a referendum on a constitution. Rebels shot four people at a government building on June 30. Corruption and a stifling bureaucracy still hamper the economy and Russia recently acknowledged that it will not meet its goal of joining the World Trade Organization (WTO) in 2003. (Negotiations have moved slowly because Russia is unable or unwilling to expose some politically sensitive sectors, like agriculture and energy, to full liberalization and competition.) Then in early June, two defense-industry officials associated with the same private company were murdered hours apart from each other, a reminder that what there is of capitalism in Russia still has a strong whiff of gangsterism. But is Russia really such a nasty, corrupt, barely-democratic basket case? The 2000 election that ratified Vladimir Putin's ascension to the country's presidency was marred by irregularities detailed in a critical report by the English-language Moscow Times. But the same report confirmed that Putin almost certainly would have won the election anyway. The only other candidate with a firm national base is the beefy, gray Communist leader Gennady Zyuganov, who has little appeal outside his own party. Putin has since remained genuinely popular, and should win the presidential election next year without difficulty. Indeed, basket-case though Russia may be, the realist Russian-affairs scholar who serves as the president's national security advisor could give her boss plenty of reasons why the country still warrants the benefit of the doubt. And they are hard-nosed, pragmatic ones. The first is economic. Since its 1998 collapse and debt default, the Russian economy has rebounded strongly, growing by an average of 6.4 percent per year between 1999 and 2002, as compared to 2.6 percent in the United States (and 2.7 percent and 1.4 percent in France and Germany, respectively) over the same period. This year the finance ministry expects a net capital inflow into the country for the first time since 1991, reflecting growing investor confidence spurred on in part by reforms of the still-unwieldy tax code and bureaucracy. Corporate governance is also sharply improving. The Russian economy is still heavily dependent on commodities, especially oil, of which it has the world's largest reserves outside of the Middle East. But it just so happens that that is one commodity for which demand has only continued to grow. And supply-fears concerning instability in the Middle East have only pushed prices higher. Russia also has the world's largest reserves of natural gas, a fact that made a recent state visit by Putin to Britain a huge success, as the two countries agreed on a pipeline and supply deal. At the time, Tony Blair went so far as to say that relations between the two countries have "rarely, if ever, been so good." Combine Russia's vast energy supplies with the fact that it is in no danger of being taken over by Islamist madmen, and you can see why the Bush administration wouldn't see the closure of a TV station or two as a reason to give Vladimir Putin a hard time. And, speaking of Islamist madmen, Russia's cooperation is crucial on nuclear proliferation, an area in which it can be uniquely helpful. Russia has no desire to see North Korea or Iran get the bomb--both are far closer to Russia than to America, and either could provide a weapon to Chechen-sympathizing Islamists. True, one occasionally wonders why that calculus didn't stop Russia from providing Iran with nuclear help in the first place. (Though it should be pointed out that Russia's economy was in far worse shape, and Chechnya had yet to be become an Islamist cause c�l�bre, when Russia first began providing Iran with nuclear expertise in the mid-1990s.) But there are signs that Putin will be pragmatic about trading the relationship with the Islamic Republic for improved relations with America: The foreign ministry again urged Iran to accept more intrusive inspections by the International Atomic Energy Agency in a statement on June 30. Supplying the Iranian reactor at Bushehr may be worth roughly $1 billion to Russian companies, but better economic relations with America, and the WTO membership which will require American support, would be worth much more in the long run. And then there's Russia's cooperation in the war on terrorism. No doubt part of the price for positioning American troops and airfields in the former Soviet republics in central Asia was our keeping quiet about Russian brutality in Chechnya. This is not something America should be proud of. But, in the end, the benefits of basing American troops in central Asia proved critical during the war in Afghanistan. More recently, Putin's promise to increase Russian oil production in the event of "regional conflicts breaking out" as a result of the war on terror has also been a boon to the United States. This gesture has helped keep the price of oil more stable over the last year than it probably would have been otherwise. Switzerland it's not, but neither is Russia the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. As time goes by, Russia's realistic president realizes he can do better for his country by getting along with the United States. It can only be a positive sign that America's president feels the same way. Return to Menu E. Russia-Iran 1. Aqazadeh wraps up Moscow visit Vice-President and Head of Iran's Atomic Energy Organization (IAEO) Gholam-Reza Aqazadeh wrapped up his visit to Russia and departed for Tehran Thursday morning. Aqazadeh, who was here at the head of a delegation, met with a number of Russian officials and explored possible avenues for bolstering of nuclear cooperation between the two countries. Aqazadeh and his entourage also inspected a number of nuclear facilities in the country. During two rounds of talks between Aqazadeh and Russian Atomic Energy Minister Alexander Rumyantsev, the two sides discussed technical issues of Tehran-Moscow cooperation including continuation of construction of Bushehr power plant, as well as supply of its needed fuel and other facilities. Rumyantsev stressed in his remarks that nuclear cooperation between Iran and Russia is of strategic significance. Aqazadeh referred to the prospect of future cooperation between the two states in various fields and hoped that positive results would be achieved by both sides. The IAEO head also held separate meetings with Russian Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov and Head of the country's Security Council Vladimir Rushailo. In the meetings, Iran and Russia stressed the need for continuation and expansion of cooperation particularly in nuclear fields. Both Aqazadeh and Ivanov called for further promotion of cooperation on atomic programs. They also laid emphasis on expansion of relations in all fields. Rushailo also said that Russia attaches great importance to cooperation with Iran in peaceful use of nuclear energy. Iran is a member of International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and signatory to the non-proliferation treaty (NPT), therefore, it is entitled to have access to international community for advanced nuclear technology, Rushailo underlined. Return to Menu 2. Iran Sets Its Sights on More Reactors Regime seeks Russian help building additional nuclear plants. Moscow defends such dealings. Iran wants Russia to help it build more nuclear power plants in addition to the country's controversial first reactor now nearing completion, Iranian atomic energy chief Gholamreza Aghazadeh said here Wednesday. "We have plans for building, besides the Bushehr nuclear power plant, several others having a total capacity of 6,000 megawatts, and we are inviting Russia to take this opportunity," Aghazadeh said in an interview with the Russian news agency Itar-Tass. Although Iran's hopes to build additional power plants are not new, the positive tone of Aghazadeh's comments was significant because it implies that Russia might agree to cooperate despite fierce objections from Washington, which fears that Tehran is engaged in a clandestine nuclear weapons program. Working under an $800-million contract, Russia has helped Iran build a 1,000-megawatt light-water reactor, which is nearly completed, in the western port of Bushehr. Iran may also seek to build a second reactor at that site. Iran has come under mounting international pressure in recent weeks � not just from Washington but also from the European Union and the United Nations' International Atomic Energy Agency � to accept tougher inspections of its nuclear sites. Iran has expressed willingness in principle to sign additional safeguard protocols, but only if other countries commit themselves to assisting it with civilian nuclear technology. The fear in Washington and some other capitals is that Iran's nuclear power program in combination with secret weapons research could give the Islamic nation the knowledge and materials to build nuclear bombs. A senior Bush administration official said in Moscow this year that one of Washington's top priorities is to be sure that Russia doesn't agree to help build any additional power plants besides the Bushehr reactor. He implied that stopping the Bushehr project is impossible, but that Washington did not expect Moscow to agree to any new deals. Russian Atomic Energy Minister Alexander Rumyantsev, speaking Wednesday at a news conference, defended his country's nuclear dealings with Iran. "Many criticize us, saying that Russia is supplying nuclear military know-how to Iran, and demand on these grounds that the construction of the Bushehr nuclear power plant be stopped," he said. "I would like to say officially that there is no cooperation between Russia and Iran other than that on the peaceful utilization of nuclear technology. We call this kind of politics unfair competition, when we are accused of something and are forced out of Iran." In recent months, Moscow has been pressing Iran to sign additional safeguard agreements with the IAEA, saying it would benefit the country by proving that Tehran has purely peaceful intent in its nuclear program. That pressure has been seen as helpful by Washington. Russian President Vladimir V. Putin has also said his nation opposes development of nuclear weapons by Iran. President Bush told reporters in Washington on Wednesday that in a 15-minute telephone conversation with Putin that was focused largely on Iran and North Korea, "I thanked him for keeping the pressure on the Iranian government to dismantle any notions they might have of building a nuclear weapon." Mohamed ElBaradei, head of the IAEA, is due to visit Iran next week to discuss concerns about Tehran's nuclear program and the issue of additional safeguards. A stricter safeguards agreement between Iran and the IAEA, however, could pave the way for greater Russian-Iranian cooperation. Russian Security Council Secretary Vladimir B. Rushailo, when he received Aghazadeh earlier this week, declared that as a signatory to the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty, Iran "has the right to receive international assistance in developing its nuclear power industry." Article IV of the treaty states that signatories "undertake to facilitate" the exchange of equipment and scientific information "for the peaceful uses of nuclear energy." "Parties to the treaty in a position to do so shall also cooperate in contributing to the further development of the applications of nuclear energy for peaceful purposes, especially in the territories of nonnuclear-weapon states party to the treaty," it continues. Iran contends that Washington is seeking to ignore this part of the treaty. Article I of the treaty says that signatories possessing nuclear weapons will not assist "nonnuclear-weapon states" to manufacture or otherwise acquire nuclear arms. "In theory, Articles I and IV do not contradict each other," said Ivan Safranchuk, director of the Moscow branch of the Washington-based Center for Defense Information. "But in practice everything looks totally messed up and confused. It is extremely difficult to tell the difference. Where is that fine line that separates proliferation from development of civilian nuclear energy? How is this to be judged?" Safranchuk said he believes Russia's goal is "to make any misuse impossible" instead of ending nuclear cooperation with Iran. He also said the invitation from Aghazadeh, who heads Iran's Atomic Energy Organization, for Russian deal-making does not mean Moscow will agree to any new contracts. There is probably a "tacit understanding" that "Washington shuts its eyes as Moscow finishes the Bushehr nuclear power plant project in return for Moscow's renunciation of all other projects that could follow," he said. Rushailo's comments about Iran's right to acquire nuclear technology should be seen primarily as an effort to defend the Bushehr project, according to Safranchuk. "No question, the Kremlin does have concerns about Iran and its nuclear program," Safranchuk said. "But these concerns cannot and should not be voiced out loud, in a straightforward manner, for it would immediately leave Bushehr open to political attacks." Talk of possible future nuclear deals with Iran "is a psychological trick," Safranchuk added. "Russian authorities believe that if they start talking about future contracts, everybody will take Bushehr for granted." Return to Menu 3. Russia Close to Delivering Nuclear Fuel to Iran, Minister Says Russian Atomic Energy Minister Alexander Rumyantsev said Wednesday that an agreement with Tehran that would allow shipment of uranium to an Iranian nuclear power plant was close to being signed. Rumyantsev said an agreement about the return of spent nuclear fuel to Russia from the Bushehr plant would be signed after examination by ecological experts, and "then, there will remain no obstacle to the delivery of nuclear fuel from Russia for the atomic power plant at Bushehr." "The agreement about the return of spent nuclear fuel from Bushehr to Russia is completely ready, and it meets all international standards," he said. Russian officials have said that fuel delivery would be tied to Iranian promises to ship all spent fuel back to Russia for reprocessing and disposal. Plutonium for use in nuclear weapons can be derived from spent fuel rods and the Russian arrangement was aimed at ensuring other countries that Iran would not be able to obtain fissile material for weapons. The prospect of uranium being shipped to the Bushehr plant was likely to increase international tensions over the plant, which the United States contends is part of Iranian attempts to develop nuclear weapons. Russia has pushed Iran to sign additional nonproliferation agreements with the International Atomic Energy Agency in order to allay fears of weapons development. Gholamreza Aghazadeh, the head of Iran's atomic energy agency, said that Iran agreed with the need for an additional protocol. "Iran's position is clear. We have said that the signing of the additional protocol is necessary," Aghazadeh said after a meeting with Rumyantsev in Moscow. But while Iran is "favorably inclined" to the additional protocol, it wants to know exactly what requirements it will be obliged to fulfill by the IAEA, Aghazadeh said. "We would like these requirements to be concrete, transparent and documented," he said, calling for closer cooperation between Tehran and the IAEA. Both Aghazadeh and Rumyantsev suggested that Russia was looking closely at proposals to increase Iran's nuclear capacity by 6000 megawatts by 2020, in addition to the 1000-megawatt Bushehr plant. Return to Menu 4. Iran Offers Russia Chance to Build More Nuclear Reactors Iran offered Russia a chance to build more nuclear power stations in the Islamic state amid global fears that Moscow's ongoing projects are already helping Tehran develop atomic weapons. Iran's atomic energy chief and Vice President Gholam-Reza Aghazadeh said officials here assured him in three days of talks that Russia intended to push ahead with its Iranian nuclear link despite protest from the United States and Israel. "Beside Bushehr, we intend to build several more nuclear power stations with the overall power capacity of 6,000 megawatts, and we are offering Russia a chance to take up this opportunity," Aghazadeh told the ITASS-TASS new agency. Russia has been building Iran's first nuclear power station in Bushehr, which is due to go online in 2005. Aghazadeh's comments appeared to refer to a memorandum Moscow and Tehran inked in July 2002. Russia's government then voiced its right to build a second nuclear power plant in Iran and engage in long-term atomic cooperation with a country labeled by Washington as a member of an "axis of evil." The 2002 document said Russia intended to build all four reactors at the southern Bushehr plant -- only one is nearing completion so far -- along with two more 1,000 megawatt blocks in Ahvaz, some 100 kilometers (60 miles) from the Iraqi border. But political analysts at the time said Russia was mostly voicing its right to an independent Iranian policy and was still likely to bend to US and Israeli pressure to curb the nuclear program. The 2002 declaration was published less than two weeks after Atomic Energy Minister Alexander Rumyantsev declared that Bushehr would be Russia's last nuclear project in Iran. There was no immediate reaction from Russian officials to Aghazadeh's latest offer, made at the end of a three-day visit to Moscow. Aghazadeh said the trip was "very successful and has been perceived in Iran with enthusiasm because Russia reaffirmed its willingness to cooperate with Iran in the nuclear sphere, as before. "Russia is our most trusted partner in this area." He also defended Iran's country's nuclear drive. "The international community has found no blemishes (in Iran's nuclear program) -- there are none," he added. Russia has come under mounting pressure to reassess its policy on Iran -- a country sitting on vast oil reserves -- amid Western worries that Tehran is using the power station project to develop a clandestine nuclear weapons program. Moscow's response has been contradictory and difficult to read. Some Russian ministers insist that the projects will continue while President Vladimir Putin argues that Moscow is as concerned about Tehran's reported nuclear ambitions as the West. Moscow has been pressing Tehran to open up its nuclear program sites to UN inspectors -- something that Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov did again during his meeting with Aghazadeh on Monday. Iran says it is ready to allow closer UN inspections but only under the condition that other countries would in return assist it in developing a broader nuclear power program. That condition has been rejected by the United States. Meanwhile Moscow appears to be stalling Bushehr's construction and the project now is not due to go online in 2005 at the earliest. Some here see the delay as an indirect concession to Washington and Tehran has expressed impatience with Moscow as a result. The last stumbling block for Bushehr is the signing of a separate protocol that would require Iran to return all of the plant's spent nuclear fuel material to Russia. The waste could theoretically be reprocessed to make nuclear weapons. Aghazadeh said that the new Russia-Iranian protocol was ready. "In the nearest future Moscow and Tehran will announce a date on which the additional protocol on the return of nuclear waste (to Russia) will be signed," he said. Return to Menu 5. Iran to Return Spent Nuclear Fuel to Russia A protocol will be signed soon committing Iran to return spent nuclear fuel to Russia, the Russian Foreign Ministry's senior spokesman, Alexander Yakovenko, said here on Tuesday. Yakovenko told a press briefing that an accord in principle to that effect has been reached and that the protocol will be signed in the shortest possible time. He said Tehran-Moscow cooperation on the construction of the Bushehr Nuclear Power Plant in Iran would continue. "I do not see causes that could hamper this cooperation," Yakovenko said, adding that "there are no problems on the part of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) in this connection." He further said that Russian Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov had confirmed during his meeting Monday with the president of Iran's Atomic Energy Organization (IAEO), Gholam-Reza Agazadeh, that Russia was committed to its obligations in the Bushehr project. "It was stressed that this construction is carried out in strict compliance with the provisions of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty," Yakovenko said. He cited Ivanov as saying that Iran's signing the Additional Protocol to the NPT "would be another confirmation of the peaceful character of Iran's nuclear program." Return to Menu 6. Protocol Between Russia and Iran on Return of Spent Nuclear Fuel to be Signed After Ecological Expert Examination On Wednesday head of the Russian Ministry of nuclear energy Alexander Rumyantsev stated at a joint press conference with Gholamreza Aghazadeh, Iranian vice-president, that an additional protocol between Russia and Iran on return of spent nuclear fuel would be signed after an ecological expert examination. According to Rumyantsev, at present they determined procedures to commence supply by Russia of nuclear fuel to Iran for the nuclear power plant under construction in Bushehr. The procedure stipulates conduct of an ecological expert examination on the issue of supplies of nuclear fuel, signing of an additional protocol on return of spent nuclear fuel to the inter-governmental agreement on cooperation under a nuclear program, required amendments to commercial contracts and ultimately, delivery of fuel to Iran "in accordance with recognized international regulations." Rumyantsev did not specify dates having indicated that they would be determined in the course of negotiations with the Iranian side. Return to Menu 7. Russia Train Iranian Nuclear Experts A total of 700 Iranian specialists have been trained in Russian nuclear sites, the president of Iran's Atomic Energy Organization (IAEO), Qolam-Reza Aqazadeh, told Russia's Itar-Tass and channel 1 on Tuesday. "The Iranian specialists have studied well the systems and safety requirements of Russia's nuclear power plants," Aqazadeh said. "They received training in Iran and confirmed their knowledge in Russia." The IAEO head further stressed that Iranian nuclear scientists and nuclear power plant operators will work together with their Russian colleagues for several months after the launch of the Bushehr nuclear power plant "so that they can gain experience." Return to Menu 8. Schedule of Staged Commissioning of Bushehr Nuclear Power Plant to be Prepared by Fall On Wednesday at a joint press conference with Gholam Reza Aghazadeh, Iranian vice-president and head of the Iranian Atomic energy organization, Russian minister of atomic energy Alexander Rumyantsev stated that the schedule of staged commissioning of the Bushehr nuclear power plant would be prepared by the coming fall. According to Rumyantsev, "it was not technically difficult to complete the Busher nuclear power plant project." The Russian minister recalled that the Bushehr project had been designed by Germany, that was why Russia had to analyze possible completion of the project as German and Russian technologies in that sphere differ greatly. Rumyantsev acknowledged existence of delays in completion of the project but stated that they were minimal and related to the fact that German equipment still had to be rejected as defective due to various reasons. In his opinion, the Iranian side perceived that problem with understanding. He added that the schedule of staged commissioning of the Bushehr nuclear power plant "would also provide for dispatch of nuclear fuel to Iran." Return to Menu 9. Report: Iran Says It's Conditionally Ready to Sign Additional Agreements to Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty Iran is ready to sign additional nonproliferation agreements with the International Atomic Energy Agency to assure the world it has no intentions of developing nuclear weapons but only under certain conditions, the head of the country's atomic energy organization said Tuesday, the ITAR-Tass news agency reported. Iran ''is ready to sign the additional protocol to the agreement on non-proliferation of nuclear weapons, but only in an atmosphere of transparency and trust regarding the participants of this document,'' Gholamreza Aghazadeh said in an interview with the agency and Channel One television, according to ITAR-Tass. It was not immediately clear what gestures could satisfy Aghazadeh's criteria. But the statement appeared to be an advance for Russia's repeated urging that Iran sign the agreement. Earlier Tuesday, the Foreign Ministry said Iran and Russia will sign an agreement soon on the return of spent nuclear fuel from Iran to Russia. U.S. officials have said such a move would help reduce Washington's concerns about Iran's nuclear ambitions. ''There are plans to sign this protocol in the near future,'' Foreign Ministry spokesman Alexander Yakovenko said Tuesday, according to Interfax news agency. ''This has been agreed upon with Iran.'' Meeting with Iran's nuclear chief Monday, Russian Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov said Iran's signing additional agreements with the IAEA would ''be yet another confirmation of the peaceful character of the Iranian nuclear program and the close cooperation of Iran with the agency,'' according to a statement from the Foreign Ministry. Russia is helping Iran build a nuclear power plant in the coastal city of Bushehr, and Moscow has insisted international fears that the project could help develop nuclear weapons are unfounded. But Russia has increasingly pushed Tehran after strong urging from the United States to cooperate with the IAEA on inspections. Return to Menu 10. Russia Offers Nuclear Co-Operation to Iran in Exchange for IAEA Scrutiny Russia yesterday stepped up pressure on Iran to submit to more detailed international scrutiny of its nuclear programme as a 28-strong delegation arrived in Moscow for talks linked to atomic energy contracts. Igor Ivanov, foreign minister, said Russia complied with the conditions of the nuclear weapons non-proliferation treaty, and that Iran's adherence to the "additional protocol" of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) would be one more confirmation of the peaceful intentions of its programme. Separately, Sergei Rushailo, secretary of Russia's security council, indicated that Moscow would welcome greater peaceful nuclear co-operation with Iran, but that all of its nuclear programme should be placed under the control of the IAEA. Their comments came as international pressure grows for greater IAEA supervision of Iran in the wake of the discovery of elements of a non-disclosed nuclear programme, causing embarrassment to Russia as it pushes ahead with the completion of the $1bn (�610m) Bushehr nuclear reactor. Speaking yesterday in Tehran, Mohammad Khatami, Iran's president, insisted the country had every right to develop nuclear energy and demanded assistance for its programmes. "We demand recognition of Iran's peaceful nuclear knowledge and a guarantee for such right by the world," Mr Khatami said during a meeting with Jack Straw, the UK foreign secretary, who left Tehran yesterday after two days of talks. President Vladimir Putin has said several times in recent weeks that it would be desirable for Iran to agree to the additional protocol, but that pressure should not be used unfairly as a pretext to disadvantage Russia's commercial nuclear sector. Russia and Iran have yet to sign a final version of their bilateral agreement for the delivery and return for reprocessing and storage of nuclear fuel to Bushehr, which could lead to supplies by early next year. A senior Kremlin official stressed last month that Iran would not be forced to sign the IAEA additional protocol as a condition for completion of Bushehr, but that it would want Tehran to comply with IAEA safeguards for the station. He said nuclear experts had rejected suggestions that the Bushehr plant could contribute to a nuclear weapons programme, and that the US had sanctioned the construction of a similar lightwater reactor in North Korea during the 1990s. An official from Russia's ministry of atomic energy said yesterday the Iranian and Russian delegations had discussed the delivery date for nuclear fuel, which could be made public this week. He said no final deadline had yet been specified. The delay in signing the agreement, which is subject to final approvals by the Russian and Iranian sides, has given rise to suggestions that it provides a cover for Moscow to delay the completion of Bushehr while pressure on Iran builds to the point that it agrees to the additional protocol. Gholamreza Aghazadeh, the head of Iran's atomic energy programme, said co-operation with Russia had "good prospects". Return to Menu 11. Russia Will Not Back Out of Nuclear Power Project in Iran Russia and Iran intend to sign shortly a protocol on returning spent nuclear fuel to Russia, said Alexander Yakovenko, an official Russian Foreign Ministry spokesman. He stressed that Russia-Iran cooperation in building a nuclear power station in the South Iranian town of Bushehr will continue. "I see no reason why this should not be done," Yakovenko said. Yakovenko pointed out that at Monday's meeting with Iran's Vice President Gulamriza Agazade, chairman of the Iranian nuclear energy organisation, Russia's Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov confirmed Russia's commitment on the Bushehr project. "It was stressed that this construction is being carried out in strict conformity with the provisions of the nuclear non-proliferation treaty," Yakovenko indicated. At the same time, according to Yakovenko, the ministry noted that Iran's joining the additional protocol on IAEA guarantees allowing surprise inspections of Iranian nuclear facilities, "was a further confirmation of the peaceful nature of Iran's nuclear programme". Return to Menu 12. Russia Presses Iran to Accept Scrutiny of the Nuclear Sites Russia today received Iran's chief nuclear official, Gholam Reza Aghazadeh, to discuss details of the two countries' cooperation on nuclear power. There is growing concern in other countries that Iran is developing nuclear weapons. Mr. Aghazadeh met with the Russian foreign minister, Igor S. Ivanov, and with the atomic energy minister, Aleksandr Rumyantsev. The Foreign Ministry said in a statement that it had pressed Iran to sign an international protocol that would allow more aggressive United Nations inspections of its nuclear sites. A state-owned company in Russia began building a $1 billion nuclear power plant in Bushehr, Iran, in the late 1990's. It is expected to begin operating on a test basis by next year. Officials from the United States and Britain suspect that Iran is developing nuclear weapons, possibly by using the fuel that will be provided by Russia for use at Bushehr. Those concerns seemed to be confirmed this month, when the International Atomic Energy Agency said Iran had secretly processed nuclear material. Other countries have urged Iran to sign an additional protocol to the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty that would lead to more aggressive United Nations inspections of its nuclear sites, but Tehran has refused, saying that its program is peaceful. It was not immediately clear how Mr. Aghazadeh responded to the Russian request for more openness. He said only that work between the two countries was "transparent and in the framework of international law," according to Russia's state news agency, RIA-Novosti. Still, Russia does not seem willing to abandon the project at Bushehr if Iran refuses to sign. The project employs more than 1,000 Russian experts in Iran, according to Nikolai Shingaryov, head of the Russian Atomic Ministry Information Department, and provides work for several large Russian companies. In meetings today, Mr. Ivanov "confirmed Russia's pledge to honor its obligations" in Bushehr, the Foreign Ministry said. However, Mr. Shingaryov said Russia would not ship any fuel before receiving a guarantee from Iran that it would return the spent fuel. Return to Menu F. Russia-North Korea 1. China Sends Envoy to Moscow Amid Diplomatic Push Over N. Korean Nukes Question For the second time this week, China has sent an envoy abroad for talks on North Korea's nuclear program amid a push for resumed dialogue between Pyongyang and the United States, the Foreign Ministry said Thursday. Vice Foreign Minister Dai Bingguo flew to Moscow on Wednesday to meet with Russian Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov and other top officials, said Foreign Ministry spokesman Kong Quan. Dai's trip comes as another Chinese diplomat is in Washington for talks with U.S. officials. Vice Foreign Minister Wang Yi held "useful discussions" with National Security Adviser Condoleeza Rice, Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage, and Assistant Secretary of State James Kelly, Kong said. Both envoys are repeating China's call for dialogue between China's long-time ally North Korea and other nations concerned by Pyongyang's decision to restart its nuclear program, Kong said. China hosted talks in Beijing in April between the North and the United States aimed at settling American complaints that Pyongyang was trying to develop atomic weapons. Beijing has called for more talks, and Kong said China believes the format should remain flexible. North Korea has demanded direct talks with Washington, while the government of U.S. President George W. Bush wants a multilateral meeting, possibly with South Korea and Japan. "The Chinese focus is to safeguard peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula and we are opposed to nuclear weapons on the Korean Peninsula and at the same time we are concerned that the security concerns of the DPRK side be addressed," Kong said. South Korea's president, Roh Moo-hyun, is to visit Beijing this month, during which North Korea is expected to be a major topic. China fought on the North's side during the 1950-53 Korean War and is the main aid donor to the isolated, hard-line communist regime. Since establishing diplomatic ties with Seoul in 1992, China has also built solid commercial and diplomatic ties with the economically dynamic South. Return to Menu G. Official Statements 1. On the Session of the Executive Council of the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons The 33rd session of the Executive Council of the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) concluded in The Hague, Netherlands, on June 27. A number of important questions for Russia were considered, pertaining to the implementation of the Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC). V. I. Kholstov, General Director of the Russian Munitions Agency, made a detailed report on the implementation of the Russian chemical weapons destruction program. He thoroughly described the work of the first chemical weapons destruction facility in Gorny, Saratov Region, where the first stage of liquidation of the stockpiles of chemical weapons, envisaged by the Convention, was completed this April. The Executive Council was informed that a second line of the Gorny plant (to destroy lewisite) would become operative in the third quarter of the current year. There was a positive response among session participants to the information about the progress in the creation of more powerful plants in Kambarka, Udmurtian Republic, and Shchuchye, Kurgan Region. This creates favorable prerequisites for the solution, at the upcoming (this October) 8th session of the Conference of the States Parties to the CWC, of the question of extending the period of execution of the second phase of destruction of Russia's stocks of chemical weapons (20% of the total). Another priority issue for Russia is the conversion of former chemical weapons production facilities. The Executive Council approved four Russian documents with plans of conversion and verification of such facilities in Volgograd and Dzerzhinsk, Nizhny Novgorod Region. The next, 34th session of the OPCW Executive Council will be held in September 2003. Return to Menu 2. France Donates �40 Million to Cleanup of Soviet Nuclear Fleet Support for EBRD-managed Northern Dimension Environmental Partnership. France is donating �40 million to the nuclear window of the EBRD-managed Northern Dimension Environmental Partnership (NDEP) Support Fund, which is the principal multilateral financing vehicle for implementing the European Union�s Northern Dimension initiative in the area of environment. As part of its broader environmental mandate for the north-west of Russia, the Fund addresses environmental, safety and security hazards posed by the aging decommissioned Soviet nuclear fleet in the Barents Sea. With France�s contribution it now stands at �160 million. The latest pledge to the Fund comes as part of France�s contribution to the G8 Global Partnership Against the Spread of Weapons and Materials of Mass Destruction, launched last year. The EBRD�s French director Jean-Pierre Landau expressed his country�s desire that the Fund becomes �the central player in this priority area for the G8 Partnership.� He further underlined France�s expertise in the civilian use of nuclear power, which he hopes can lend support to the Fund�s activities. France�s donation follows the signing in Stockholm in May of the Framework Agreement on a Multilateral Nuclear Environmental Programme in the Russian Federation (MNEPR). The agreement provides a framework under which Russia and the international community can implement projects in the area of nuclear safety, radiation protection and radioactive waste management. In addition to radioactive waste stemming from the operation of nuclear submarines and other nuclear vessels, there are roughly 40,000 spent nuclear fuel units in many areas of the Barents Sea region. The nuclear material is inadequately stored � some of it on land and some in submarines, some of which are threatening to sink. Typically, the fuel is highly enriched and poses an environmental threat and a security risk, Vince Novak, the director of the EBRD�s Nuclear Safety Department, warned. The international community created a �nuclear window� as part of the NDEP Support Fund to improve management of the waste in the Barents Sea area. The EBRD manages the Fund because of its experience in Russia, and its specific knowledge in managing funds to deal with the nuclear legacy of the Soviet era. The Northern Dimension Environmental Partnership was launched in 2001 by the European Commission, Russia, EBRD, EIB, NIB and the World Bank as part of the Northern Dimension (initiated in 1997). The Support Fund was set up in July 2002, initially backed by �50 million from the European Commission and �10 million each from Russia, Denmark, Finland, Norway and Sweden. Canada has pledged �20 million recently. Return to Menu 3. Vershbow Urges U.S., Russia to Stay United on Iran, N. Korea (excerpted) (Remarks at 20th International Workshop on Global Security) (3550) [�] During the Cold War we tended to think of global security in terms of a great East-West conflict defined by antagonistic political ideologies and the threat of mutual assured destruction. We are all thankful that that epoch is over and will not return, even though the habits of thinking bred by decades of mutual suspicion and hostility are hard for some to overcome. In certain ways global security may have been deceptively easier to grasp and deal with then, as complex, deep-seated conflicts and issues were subordinated to, and perhaps even camouflaged by, the Cold War competition. In today's world, all of us must understand that the threats to global security are impossible to reduce to a simple framework. Terrorism and the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction may be the gravest threats in terms of the potential devastation they can inflict. But we need to remember to look at global security more broadly. Simmering regional conflicts threaten to boil over into confrontations that, in places like the Indian subcontinent, could go nuclear. The emergence of diseases such as AIDS and SARS, with their catastrophic human, social and economic consequences, offer a particularly difficult challenge, one that is so frustrating for us in the 21st century when we have come to believe that science and technology should provide the answer to every challenge posed by Mother Nature. There are also economic and environmental threats to long-term global security � the gap between rich and poor, the widespread pollution of water and air and soil, uncertainty about future energy supplies - that are no less serious, even though they may not dominate the headlines. [�] There is no question that, for the American government and the American people, the greatest threat to global security today comes from the possible acquisition of weapons of mass destruction by terrorists. This is a very real potential threat because terrorist organizations are now international in nature, well financed and well organized. This threat will continue to exist whether or not we eventually find out the full truth about Iraq's WMD programs. Given what we know about terrorist attempts to acquire weapons of mass destruction, 9/11 has to be viewed as a non-chemical, non-biological, non-nuclear preview of what is possible. Does anyone believe that those responsible for 9/11 and other deadly terrorist attacks would feel any compunction about using weapons of mass destruction to kill tens of thousands of innocent people? Different nations may disagree on what action to take to prevent this from happening, but the United States believes that we cannot sit by idly and allow rogue states and terrorist organizations to acquire weapons of mass destruction that can be used against us or our friends. The threat is real, even if acknowledging it and discussing it makes us uncomfortable and uneasy. [�] On a similar note, Russia, China and states in Central Asia have created the Shanghai Cooperation organization to address terrorism and other security threats in that part of the world. The United States has been working bilaterally with many of Russia's neighbors to improve their capacity to combat terrorism, narcotics trafficking and other transnational dangers. So countries are responding to the new security dangers and are joining forces in new coalitions that will help safeguard the world that we live in during the coming century. The work among intelligence services and law enforcement agencies is just as important as cooperation among militaries. [�] Russia's own democratization and reforms have contributed to peace and security in Europe and Eurasia, and we believe Russia has an important role in extending democracy and stability to other parts of the globe. That is why we have supported Russia's integration in the world economy, its membership in the G-8, and its special partnerships with NATO, the EU and other institutions. Russia is on the front lines in dealing with international terrorism, the narcotics trade, proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, and organized crime. As a world leader in science, Russia has a major role to play in addressing new scourges like HIV/AIDS. As a growing producer of oil, gas and other raw materials, Russia also has a major role to play in ensuring global energy security by helping to diversify sources of supply. Our future relationship with Russia will depend in large measure on our ability to work together in facing the related security threats of terrorism and the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction. Our two countries have managed to agree on a common agenda in fighting terrorism, but reaching agreement on how to deal concretely with weapons of mass destruction has proven more difficult. Clearly, North Korea and Iran are the two most obvious examples where the United States, Russia and the international community must stand united. Nuclear programs in those two nations represent a serious challenge to regional stability, the entire international community, and the global nonproliferation regime. [�] Meanwhile, there is mounting evidence that Iran is seeking to obtain nuclear weapons. Previously our concerns centered on the nuclear power station at Bushehr that Iran has been building with Russia's assistance for some years. The risks from that project were supposed to be reduced by Iran's reliance on Russia for supplies of nuclear fuel and a commitment to return all spent fuel to Russia. Yet we have now learned that Iran has secretly been developing its own uranium enrichment capability - which would circumvent the very safeguards Russia has been trying to put into place. At the meeting of the Board of Governors of the IAEA last week, Russia joined the United States in voicing concern about Iran's non-compliance with its obligations, and in calling on Iran to place all of its nuclear programs under IAEA control. In our view, this means that Iran must sign an Additional Protocol with the IAEA under which it would accept mandatory IAEA monitoring and short-notice inspections of all its nuclear facilities, without exception. Anything less would fail to dispel concerns about Iran's nuclear ambitions. Looking ahead, we need to consider what additional tools and forms of leverage we can bring to bear to stop Iran, North Korea or any other country from acquiring the technology for weapons of mass destruction and long-range ballistic missiles. President Bush suggested one new approach in the Proliferation Security Initiative (PSI) that he launched last month in Krakow. The PSI envisages interdiction operations aimed at stopping weapons of mass destruction, their delivery systems, and associated equipment and technology - at sea, on land or in the air -from moving to and from states that present a proliferation risk (and, of course, to terrorist groups and other non-state entities of concern). This will require the broadest possible cooperation so that proliferators will have difficulty obtaining dangerous technologies or selling, shipping and marketing their goods. A core group of U.S. allies is now working to develop the Proliferation Security Initiative, but we hope Russia and other nations will contribute as well. There may be other new approaches needed to bolster non-proliferation regimes and to keep weapons of mass destruction out of the hands of terrorists and rogue states. I hope this workshop will help identify them. For example, participants should consider whether more intrusive forms of inspection are needed; whether there should be pre-agreed conditions under which we would impose sanctions or other punitive measures on potential proliferators if they are not responsive to diplomatic persuasion. It may also be wise to accelerate efforts to develop effective anti-missile defense systems in order to protect our countries against nuclear blackmail in the event we are unable to prevent proliferation. Let me conclude by returning to the broader security agenda that I described at the outset. Although discussion of global security tends to focus on dangers and threats, ultimately our real challenge is to ensure that the 21st century will be an era when nation states compete in peace instead of resort to force of arms. The 20th century in large part was defined by its wars and the accompanying disasters and catastrophes - World War I, World War II and the Cold War - but we were the witnesses at the end of the century to the triumph of political and economic freedom. Today we have an unparalleled opportunity to extend that freedom because the world's great powers stand together in their commitment to human rights and political and economic liberty. Russia is moving forward on the course toward a democratic future. America will support Russia's progress toward full democracy and economic openness. America possesses unprecedented military, political and economic strength but we do not seek to dominate any other nation. That is not the approach we take to protect our national interests or global security. Instead, the United States is determined to take action with other nations, not only to defend the world against the threats that endanger global security, but also to work together with the international community to promote stability, economic well-being and a peaceful, prosperous, healthy, free world. And in such a world, the American living in New York City, the South African in Johannesburg, and the Russian in Moscow or Vladivostok will all reap the benefits of this cooperation within the community of nations. Return to Menu H. Links of Interest 1. Russia: Strategic Submarines Made No Patrols Last Year, U.S. Navy Says Return to Menu 2. Trust & Verify Return to Menu 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. 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