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RANSAC Nuclear News, July 15, 2003 Compiled By: Billy Magnuson A. Cooperative Threat Reduction
 A. Cooperative Threat Reduction 1. Destroy Russia's Weapons PRESIDENT BUSH has made significant progress recently in convincing U.S. allies that the prospect of weapons of mass destruction falling into terrorist hands poses the most serious global security threat. Yet Mr. Bush still hasn't been able to get parts of his own bureaucracy, or some Republicans in Congress, to absorb the idea -- nor does he seem at times to be trying hard enough. Evidence of this comes in congressional consideration of the Cooperative Threat Reduction Program, created in 1992 by then-Sen. Sam Nunn (D-Ga.) and Sen. Richard G. Lugar (R-Ind.). For 11 years this initiative has focused on destroying the largest and least-protected stockpiles of WMD in the world, which lie not in Iraq or North Korea but in the former Soviet Union. By investing less in a decade than has been spent this year alone on missile defense, the United States has managed to eliminate more than 6,000 nuclear warheads. Huge quantities of warheads and bomb-grade nuclear material remain in Russia, along with tens of thousands of tons of chemical weapons. Yet while it has reversed its initial attempts to gut the program, the administration's support for it, particularly in the Pentagon, remains lukewarm. It has solicited funding from other rich nations but not stepped up the U.S. commitment to a level that adequately addresses the threat. It also has largely stood by while House Republicans who have fought Nunn-Lugar for years continue their efforts to hamstring it. This year Rep. Duncan Hunter (R-Calif.), chairman of the House Armed Services Committee, declared the program "open-ended, unfocused and self-defeating"; he then attached amendments to the defense authorization bill that would drastically curtail several crucial projects. The most important of these is a chemical weapons destruction facility now being built in the Russian town of Shchuchye that is intended to destroy thousands of tons of deadly nerve agents. At a nearby base, dilapidated bunkers hold a terrifying arsenal of 1.9 million artillery shells filled with nerve agent; a terrorist who managed to obtain just one of them would have the means to murder as many as 100,000 people. The administration is requesting $200 million next year for the project, which is being funded by an international consortium that includes European governments and Russia. But Mr. Hunter's committee slashed $29 million of the appropriation and conditioned much of the rest in ways that may prevent any funds at all from being used. Mr. Hunter points to the fact that two other weapons disposal projects in Russia involving rocket fuel and engines have been badly mismanaged, wasting tens of millions of U.S. dollars. But his proposed cure would effectively freeze a project that by all accounts has been moving ahead relatively efficiently and that is aimed at eliminating a major threat. The White House has opposed Mr. Hunter's amendments, backing instead the Senate version of the bill that is now in conference committee. National security adviser Condoleezza Rice told Congress in May that "continued progress" on the Shchuchye facility "is essential to end as quickly as possible the proliferation threat posed by Russian nerve agent." In the post-9/11 world, that message ought to be enough to convince a Republican chairman of the House committee charged with national defense. That it evidently has not is a sign that a president who has made defense against weapons of mass destruction his overriding priority has not yet managed to overcome the obstructionism coming from senior members of his own party. Return to Menu B. Multilateral Threat Reduction 1. Russia Lags on Nuclear Waste Disposal Project Russia's nuclear waste disposal project, funded by the United States and Norway, threatens to become a waste of funds as Russian constructors lag behind schedule, officials said. Washington and Oslo agreed in 1994 to invest in a new six-million-dollar (5.3-million-euro) disposal facility to recycle liquid waste from the Northern Fleet's ships that has been building up since the 1960s. However, so far the installation, which would recycle up to 5,000 cubic metres of waste annually, had still not been completed, said the director of the Atomflot state company in charge of nuclear icebreakers. "The main problem was in outlining the project. The original project was so raw it could not be realised," Alexander Sinyaev said. The project would require an additional 500,000 dollars for final testing and launch of the facility, Sinyaev added. However, local experts, including the Norway-based ecology group Bellona, charged Russian contractors with appropriating the funds allocated to the project. "We have questions for the contractors regarding those funds. The project was changed several times, and someone got extra money that may be the very amount needed to complete the installation," Bellona's Murmansk bureau chief Sergei Zhavoronkin noted. "What is worse, though, is that while the United States and Norway invested millions of dollars in this venture, Russia cannot even account for this money. This will undermine the investors' trust in our country," he added. Return to Menu 2. Russian Nuclear Scientists Intend to Clean Up Territories of Former Military Bases in 10 Years Over the course of ten years, Russian nuclear scientists intend to completely decide the problem of decontamination and clean up of the territories of former military bases, said Director of the Nuclear Power Ministry's International Center for Ecological Security Albert Vasilyev. He said that in the first place this concerns two bases in the Northwest region on the border with Norway where more than 100 boat reactors were stored. Then work on the decontamination on the Gremikh base next to Murmansk will begin, and also at the base outside Vladivostok and Kamchatka. He said that the territory of former military bases is 'not a large space, in the 10's of hectares.' However the small size of territory is compensated by the great deal of work which will be necessary to conduct. 'The conditions there are very difficult: a lot of radioactive waste has formed. The soil and strip along the coast are very dirty. The nuclear reactors installed on submarines are more than all the energy reactors in our country,' he said. At the same time, said Vasilyev, the principle question about the site of the building of the regional burial ground was also decided. 'The decision to build the burial ground on the southern island of New Land was taken. In these places the earth is claylike and eternally frozen. In these conditions radioactive waste can be stored for hundreds of years and not represent a great danger,' he said. At the present time, he said that with the financing of 'neighbors' - Norway, Sweden and Finland - the necessary ecological studies of the construction of the burial ground were conducted. 'All the formalities were agreed to, agreements were signed; however, unexpectedly the foreigners vacillated and work was halted,' said Vasilyev. Return to Menu 3. Western Governments Assess Nonproliferation Measures (excerpted) [�] The G-8 Partnership At their meeting, the G-8 leaders also reviewed the first year of the Global Partnership Against the Spread of WMD, in which the United States pledged up to $10 billion�an amount to be matched by G-8 and other partner states�over the next 10 years to help safeguard and dispose of Russian weapons and radiological materials. A G-8 report on the partnership�s progress to date noted that although several obstacles to implementation, such as Russian tax issues, are being resolved, others, such as liability protection for foreign contractors, still remain. And while noting that many countries have undertaken bilateral projects with Russia to dismantle decommissioned submarines, dispose of fissile material, or destroy chemical weapons, the report stressed that �sustained and broadened efforts will be needed.� The report also applauded efforts to solicit new donors to the partnership, and the United States announced June 2 that Finland, Norway, Poland, Sweden, and Switzerland had joined the assistance effort, which was first laid out at the 2002 G-8 Summit in Kananaskis, Canada. Additionally, an �action plan� endorsed at the Evian meeting indicated the partnership intends �to enter into preliminary discussions with new or current recipient countries�that are prepared to adopt the Kananaskis documents, as the Ukraine has already done.� Rozanne Oliver, U.S. State Department senior policy coordinator for the partnership, noted, �It was the intent all along to be open to recipients from other countries.� Although Ukraine�s application was not acted upon at this meeting, Oliver said, �The Global Partnership will be looking at this issue more after the initial phase.� G-8 states also discussed the task of securing radioactive sources that could be used to develop a �dirty bomb,� the focus of a meeting the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) had hosted in March. G-8 leaders endorsed the findings of that meeting, which advocated enhanced national controls and stepped-up international measures to secure radioactive materials, particularly those that have been abandoned, and they agreed to support the IAEA�s programs to do so. France offered to host another international conference in 2005 to assess the IAEA�s progress and discuss new strategies to tackle the problem. Return to Menu C. Nuclear Security 1. Nuclear Material in Transit Vulnerable to Attack Despite stepped-up security after September 11, 2001, countries remain ill prepared to deal with attacks on nuclear materials in transit, participants at a United Nations conference said. The U.N. International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) says radioactive materials ranging from harmless medical supplies to weapons-grade plutonium account for less than two percent of all goods transported by land, 10 percent by air and one percent by sea. But the volumes are still huge. The cargo carrier DHL boasts on a company brochure that it transports five tons of radioactive material per week on 113 aircraft to 40 destinations around the globe. While acknowledging there was reason for some concern about the security risks of transporting nuclear materials, IAEA chief Mohamed ElBaradei told a week-long conference on the issue that international regulations and industry practice have "an excellent safety record." "Over several decades of transporting radioactive material, there has not been an in-transit accident with serious human health, economic or environmental consequences," he said. But John H. Large, a consultant on nuclear issues hired by the environmental group Greenpeace, said current emergency plans would only work for "unintelligent accidents." "What they haven't prepared for is an intelligent terrorist attack where they know the vulnerabilities of your emergency plan," Large told Reuters on the sidelines of the conference. For example, he said it would be easy to take a rocket-propelled grenade and shoot it at a standard transport vehicle loaded with radioactive fuel. The result could be disastrous for the local population. "If you're going to ship nuclear materials from one place to another, you have to go through populated areas," Large said. "You have to bring the risk to population." IMPROVEMENT An IAEA official told Reuters on condition of anonymity that the September 11 attacks on the United States made clear there was "room for improvement" in tackling the threat of an attack or hijacking of nuclear material in transit. Despite the wake-up call on September 11, governments and the shipping industry have done little to improve the situation. "There've been a lot of nice words, but not much has been done," said Large. Coastal states such as Ireland, Peru and New Zealand are especially worried that countries like the United States and Britain do not inform them of all their nuclear shipments. The coastal countries complain they cannot protect themselves against attacks or prepare for accidents involving ships carrying nuclear materials at sea. But Peter Brazel of the Nuclear Safety Section of Ireland's Department of the Environment told Reuters that the United States and other shipping countries did not want to disclose all nuclear shipments because they see that as a security risk. Return to Menu D. Nuclear Safety 1. Leningrad N-Plant Hosts ISA Conference July 14-15 Leningrad nuclear power plant (LNPP) hosts the international scientific and practical conference �Results of In-Depth Safety Assessment (ISA) of Leningrad-1�, as Nuclear.Ru was informed by the plant�s information and public relations office. The conference wraps up the many-year joint activity of the Russian and foreign nuclear safety experts in assessing safety of the plant�s nuclear unit one. The conference is participated by representatives from Minatom of Russia, Gosatomnadzor of Russia, Rosenergoatom Concern, design institutes and foreign project participants: the US, the UK, Sweden, Finland, as well as the officials from Leningrad Region administration. The In-Depth Safety Assessment Report (ISAR) is the major document to justify safety of each nuclear power unit. The main project objective was to justify safety of Leningrad Phase 1 nuclear units � the leading in the RBMK series, which were built in the early 1970s � to confirm their fitness for operation beyond the design life. The international project at LNPP was launched in 1996 to have Leningrad-2 as its target. LNPP experts, specialists of the Russian design institutes and a number of leading US, Swedish, UK and Finnish experts did the probabilistic and deterministic safety analyses (P&DSA) of the unit. The Leningrad-2 in-depth safety assessment results were discussed in 2001 and positively met by Gosatomnadzor of Russia. The Leningrad-1 (planned for life extension beyond 2003) ISA has been launched basing on the developed methodologies and lessons learnt as well as P&DSA and Kursk-1 ISA findings and considering the previously obtained results. The LNPP Phase 1 site was examined to include assessments of the unit�s systems and elements, failure and reliability analyses, performance assessments and regulatory compliance assessment. The work done has confirmed the sufficiently high safety level of Leningrad-1. After the upgrades the integral risk of core damage is 10-5 1/reactor-year that corresponds with the IAEA recommendations. The ISA results help to identify safety deficits and priorities in terms of administrative and technical measures to improve the power units� safety. The ISAR has been submitted to Gosatomnadzor of Russia as a part of the document package to get a long-term operating license. The current license expires in December 2003. Return to Menu 2. Rosenergoatom Plans to Launch 20 International Safety Projects in 2003 In 2003 Rosenergoatom Concern plans to launch 20 projects amounting to US$ 21.4 billion under the international safety programs. This was announced, as Nuclear.Ru was informed by the Concern�s press center, at the meeting of chief engineers of the Russian nuclear power plants held July 8-9 in Moscow and participated by top managers of Rosenergoatom, maintenance companies, research and design institutes, and Gosatomnadzor of Russia. The meeting summed up, in particular, the results of the international activities of the Concern in the first half of 2003. Presently, the international scientific and technical cooperation (ISTC) is carried out by the Concern in 10 areas. For instance, 5 programs, 30 projects, 40 joint events totaling to 0.5 million euros are pursued through WANO this year. The cooperation with the IAEA covers 3 programs, 12 projects, 50 events with the budget of 0.1 million euros. In total ISTC frames 28 programs and 136 projects estimated 1.85 million euros. Rosenergoatom also participates in the international safety programs (ISP) like TACIS, the International Nuclear Safety Program (INSP, the US), the program of the UK Department for Trade and Industry (DTI) and others. In total, 356 programs cost US$ 363.9 million were implemented through ISP in 1992-2002. As of early 2003, 152 programs budgeted US$ 164.2 million are pursued. This year it is planned to launch 20 programs with budget of US$ 21.4 million. Special focus is made on the materiel supply programs for nuclear power plants under INSP (125 projects for US$ 135 million euros are underway). New projects with annual budget of 20-25 million euros are planned for. Summing up Rosenergoatom�s results for the first half of 2003, Concern technical director Nikolai Sorokin said that the electricity generation plan had been fulfilled 100.4%. Productions increased 6.9% as compared to the similar period of the previous year. This was achieved due to optimization of scheduled maintenance and activity to prevent unjustified grid dispatcher limitations for NPPs. The main objective for the Concern personnel was and is the maintaining of safe operation conditions of nuclear units. Sorokin believes that due to reorganization of nuclear power the role of chief engineers at the plants is increasing as regards nuclear and radiation safety and electricity production. This goes along with the increasing responsibility of chief engineers. �Perception of this is one of the moving forces to reduce number of violations and improve safety�, Sorokin stressed. Return to Menu E. Russian Nuclear Forces 1. French Warships to Arrive in Severomorsk Today French warships, i.e. the Latouche-Treville destroyer and the Casablanca nuclear-powered submarine, which took part in a Russian-French naval exercise in the Norwegian Sea, are to cast anchor at the Russian Northern fleet's main base July 11. That joint exercise, which wound up July 10, also involved two Northern-fleet warships, i.e. the Admiral Chabanenko capital ASW (Anti-Submarine Warfare) ship and a nuclear-powered attack submarine. The five-day visit stipulates various events, such as sports competitions, museum excursions, as well as visits to Severomorsk and Murmansk memorials. French sailors are to lay flowers at the monument to the defenders of the Arctic. Meanwhile the Northern fleet's song-and-dance ensemble will perform July 14 when France celebrates its national holiday, i.e. the taking of the Bastille. Severomorsk residents and city guests will be allowed to visit the Latouche-Treville destroyer on Sunday and Tuesday.. The French naval unit will shape course for home in the morning of July 16. Return to Menu 2. Russia, France Wrap Up Joint Naval Exercises Russia and France on Thursday began wrapping up joint naval exercises in the Norwegian Sea, the Russian navy said. The exercises, which began Monday, involved France's Latouche-Treville anti-submarine ship and the Casablanca submarine. Russia sent its anti-submarine ship Admiral Chabanenko and the Vepr nuclear submarine, said Navy spokesman Dmitry Burmistrov. The ships began heading toward the Arctic port of Severodvinsk. Return to Menu 3. Sergei Ivanov Positively Assesses First Results of Franco-Russian Submarine Exercises Russian Defence Minister Sergei Ivanov has positively assessed the first results of Franco-Russian submarine exercises. He told journalists about this on Thursday. The minister pointed out that full review of the exercises' results could be done after July 15, when the submarines arrive in Severomorsk (a Russian naval base on the Barents Sea). Ivanov stressed that the exercises were the first such manoeuvres with a NATO member-state. He specified that the Russian submarines were interacting under water, jointly carried out manoeuvres, maintained communication. Return to Menu F. Nonproliferation Budget 1. House Approves $368.7B Defense Bill In approving a $368.7 billion defense spending bill, the House sought to make sure older weapons systems that have proven their value aren't prematurely discarded in the transition to a more mobile, high-tech fighting force. The bill, for the budget year beginning Oct. 1, cuts some Pentagon requests for newer weapons systems in favor of continuing some older ones. It was approved 399-19 Thursday. It represents an increase of about 1.3 percent over the amount approved for this fiscal year _ not taking into account a $62.4 billion midyear spending bill that paid for the war in Iraq. The 2004 bill doesn't include the costs of military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan, which probably will be financed by another spending bill. The Senate Appropriations defense subcommittee approved a similar bill Tuesday with bipartisan support. Most details of that bill will be withheld until the full committee considers it Wednesday, but senators described it as supporting President Bush's defense spending priorities. Both bills are about $3 billion below Bush's request. Lawmakers are expected eventually to make up this gap. The House Appropriations defense subcommittee chairman, Rep. Jerry Lewis, R-Calif., said the House bill "reflects very much the direction of the commander in chief as well as the Department of Defense regarding the war on terrorism that we are pursuing in the Middle East at this point but also recognizing its great threat around the world." Those priorities include Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld's desire to transform the military into a sophisticated, lighter force able to mobilize quickly in response to crises around the world. But the House Appropriations Committee, in a report accompanying the bill, warned against cutting existing programs too severely. "Accelerating transformation by reducing current force structure to pay for future systems may undermine the readiness and capabilities of the forces we rely on today," it said. The House bill includes $458 million not sought by the Bush administration for 144 upgraded Bradley fighting vehicles, 43 Abrams tanks and other equipment to modernize the 3rd Armored Calvary Regiment. The House included $11.5 billion for building ships, a $2.4 billion increase, including one Virginia-class submarine, the Navy's most advanced attack submarine. It rejected an administration request for authorization to buy seven of the submarines through 2008. Lawmakers have expressed frustration over the submarines' rising costs and delays. The Senate subcommittee's bill would authorize five submarines through 2008, said Senate Appropriations Chairman Ted Stevens, R-Alaska. It does not include the heavy equipment for the 3rd Armored Calvary Regiment. The subcommittee also would provide the $9.1 billion sought by the Bush administration for missile defense. The House bill included $8.9 billion. Both the House and Senate bills would cut $161 million from the administration's request for $3.7 billion for F/A-22 Raptor stealth fighter-bombers for the Air Force. The long-delayed Raptor, the Air Force's planned replacement for the F-15 Eagle and the F-16 Fighting Falcon, has been plagued by cost overruns and software problems. Though the defense bill accounts for about one-sixth of federal spending, it has generated little debate. After the attacks on Sept. 11, 2001, lawmakers have been reluctant to deny the Pentagon the equipment it says it needs to defend the country. But Rep. Dennis Kucinich, D-Ohio, an anti-war Democratic presidential candidate, said the bill does little to make America safer. "The only thing this Congress will take care of today are the profit-gouging defense contractors," he said. Separately, a House panel approved $27.1 billion for the nation's nuclear weapons and water and energy projects for next year. The Senate has yet to write its energy-water bill. The bill would provide more than Bush wanted for nuclear waste disposal and energy research. It trims Bush's proposal for securing the nuclear stockpiles of Russia and other countries in what lawmakers called a protest over inefficiency, and cuts his request for maintaining the U.S. nuclear inventory. The defense bill number is H.R. 2658; the energy-water bill has no number yet. Return to Menu 2. House Panel Cuts Bush Nuclear Weapons Requests A House of Representatives panel on Tuesday passed a bill that would curb spending on U.S. nuclear weapons programs, in what lawmakers termed "a shot across the bow" of the Bush administration. Showing rare bipartisan unity, the House Appropriations subcommittee unanimously approved the $27.1 billion measure to fund energy and water programs in 2004, including a boost in funding for the controversial Yucca Mountain nuclear waste dump. Overall the bill would be an increase of around $942 million over the current fiscal year but would slash more than $326 million from President Bush's budget request for the federal agency which oversees nuclear weapons programs. Both Republican and Democratic lawmakers expressed skepticism about whether the current U.S. nuclear stockpile was appropriate in a world without a superpower foe. "We have a Cold War footprint," said Ohio Republican Rep. David Hobson, the subcommittee's chairman. "We need to look better at what the future is." The bill would also cut most of the $15.5 million Bush had requested to study new, smaller nuclear weapons that could be used to destroy deeply buried bunkers, aides said. Critics say they fear the move could spark a new nuclear arms race. The National Nuclear Security Administration -- which is part of the U.S. Department of Energy -- would still receive $8.5 billion next year, an increase of $330 million over 2003. But the bill would cut a largely-symbolic $60 million from an effort to help Russia dispose of its Cold War nuclear arsenal, to show Congress' displeasure with slowdowns that have seen the program accumulate some $1 billion in unspent funds. Texas Democratic Rep. Chet Edwards said the move was "a shot across the bow" of the Department of Energy. The bill would also substantially boost funding for the Yucca Mountain project providing $174 million more than Bush had requested and $308 million more than Congress approved this fiscal year. The plan aims to site the first permanent U.S. nuclear waste repository in the desert northwest of Las Vegas. Much of the extra money would go toward developing a rail line to transport nuclear waste around Las Vegas, in an effort to damp down fierce political opposition inside Nevada. The bill, one of 13 Congress must pass each year to fund the federal government, now goes to the full Appropriations Committee. The Senate has yet to act on its companion measure. Return to Menu G. Nuclear Industry 1. Russia Won't Bury Spent Nuclear Fuel From Bulgaria On Its Territory Russia has no plans to bury spent nuclear fuel from Bulgaria in the Chelyabinsk region in the Urals. "Radioactive waste forming in the process of fuel processing will return to Bulgaria under the contract," reads a press release issued by the Russian Atomic Energy Ministry. According to the document, the July 9 report that spent nuclear fuel from the Kozlodui power plant in Bulgaria would be buried on the premises of the production association Mayak in the Chelyabinsk region was false. "Just as before, the spent nuclear fuel from the Kozlodui nuclear power plant will be taken to Mayak for processing only," the document asserts. "Import of foreign radioactive waste to Russia, to say nothing of its burial here, is prohibited by law, and the Russian Aromic Energy Ministry fully supports this ban." Return to Menu H. U.S.-Russia 1. Russian Deputy Foreign Minister, Us Ambassador To Moscow Discuss Counter-Terrorist Cooperation Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Anatoly Safonov and US Ambassador Alexander Vershbow discussed the Russian-US counter-terrorist cooperation in Moscow yesterday, the press and information department of the Russian Foreign Ministry said on Tuesday. The sides discussed various aspects of cooperation consolidation including non-proliferation of weapons of mass destruction and counter-terrorism in the context of the forthcoming meeting of the Russian-US anti-terrorist working group in Williamsburg (USA) on July 22-23. While discussing international issues, including the developments in Iraq, the Russian side pointed out the necessity to provide security of the Russian diplomatic mission in Baghdad in accordance with the international law and universal diplomatic practice. Return to Menu I. Russian-Iran 1. Iran "Relates Positively" to Question of Closer Nuclear Inspections An Iranian diplomat said Tehran "relates positively" to calls for it to sign a protocol allowing for closer inspections of its nuclear facilities, the Interfax news agency reported, but he added a qualifier and Iran has not signed the document despite similar statements in the past. Amid international concern that Iran might be pursuing nuclear weapons, the International Atomic Energy Agency, or IAEA, wants Iran to sign an additional protocol to the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty that would permit agency inspectors to visit any part of its nuclear industry without prior notice. "We relate positively to signing the protocol, but we believe that as regards the authority of the IAEA in Iran, all this should be transparent," Interfax quoted Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Gholamali Khoshru as saying. Khoshru spoke after meeting in Moscow with Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Yuri Fedotov, who said consultations on the IAEA protocol would continue in further discussions later in the day. Last month, a spokesman for Iran's Atomic Energy Organization said Iran was "studying positively" the IAEA request that it sign the protocol. Iran, which insists its nuclear program is for peaceful, electrical power purposes, has said it would agree to unfettered inspections if it is granted access to advanced nuclear technology as provided for under the NPT. Tehran says U.S. influence is blocking that technology. Russia has urged Iran to sign the protocol to dispel the concerns of the United States and others. However, Russia has said it is not making fulfillment of its long-standing US$800 million deal to build a nuclear power reactor in Iran conditional on Iran's signing the protocol. In televised comments following his initial meeting with the Iranian deputy minister, Fedotov said Russia "believes that joining the additional protocol would serve the interests of Iran." Russia has rejected U.S. calls to abandon the reactor deal, saying U.S. concerns that it could help Iran develop nuclear weapons are unfounded. Return to Menu 2. Russian And Iranian Deputy Foreign Ministers Discuss Questions Of Combating International Terrorism The Russian and Iranian Deputy Ministers of Foreign Affairs, Yury Fedotov and Gholam-Ali Khoshrou, discussed on Tuesday in Moscow the fight against international terrorism and the problem of the weapons of mass destruction, said Yury Fedotov after the end of the negotiations. "We have discussed the co-ordination of the measures on combating international terrorism and the new challenges and threats," said Fedotov. He underscored that "the fight against international terrorism must be conducted under the aegis of the United Nations." In his opinion, the fight against the weapons of mass destruction must also go on under the aegis of the United Nations. Return to Menu 3. Tehran Positively Regards The Signing Of Additional Protocol With IAEA Iran positively regards the signing of an additional protocol with the IAEA, said Deputy Foreign Minister of Iran Golam Ali Hashru. Commenting on the results of the negotiations in Moscow with his Russian counterpart Yury Fedotov, Hashru underscored that "the question of co-operation with the IAEA is a prerogative of every country." "Our attitude to the signing of an additional protocol on guarantees is positive, but at the same time we believe that everything that concerns the powers of the IAEA and Iran must be transparent so that both sides should fulfil their commitments with regard to each other," said the Iranian deputy minister of foreign affairs. Return to Menu 4. Russia Hails Iran-IAEA Cooperation Moscow supports cooperation between Iran and the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), said Russian foreign ministry spokesman Alexander Yakovenko here on Thursday. Yakovenko in a press briefing, hailed "positive" talks between the IAEA Chief Mohammad Elbaradei and Iranian officials, saying, "we advocate constant contacts between Iran and the IAEA." He stressed that nothing would derail nuclear cooperation between Tehran and Moscow. He said Iran and Russia are to sign a protocol for delivery of spent nuclear fuel by the former to the latter. He ruled out claims that Iran and Russia are in a row over the issue. Return to Menu 5. Moscow Supports Iran-IAEA Cooperation Moscow supports cooperation between Iran and the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), said Russian Foreign Ministry Spokesman Alexander Yakovenko here on Thursday. Yakovenko in a press briefing, hailed "positive" talks between the IAEA Chief Mohammad ElBaradei and Iranian officials, saying, "We advocate constant contacts between Iran and the IAEA." He stressed that nothing would derail nuclear cooperation between Tehran and Moscow. He said Iran and Russia are to sign a protocol for delivery of spent nuclear fuel by the former to the latter. He ruled out claims that Iran and Russia are in a row over the issue. Return to Menu 6. Russia, China Willing to Replace Japan to Develop Azadegan Field Russian and China are offering to take over two-billion-dollar Japanese project to develop the huge Azadegan oil field in Iran, despite the threat of US sanctions, a leading British daily reported Thursday. The readiness of Russia and China demonstrates the difficulties facing the Bush administration in its efforts to halt Iran's alleged nuclear weapons program through economic sanctions, the Financial Times said. A Japanese consortium was reported last week to have bowed down to US pressure by suspending negotiations on the field that was meant to replace the oil rights lost in Saudi Arabia by Tokyo in 2000. The Financial Times, quoting industry sources, said that Russia, which has been helping Iran on its civilian nuclear program, had proposed to Japan that they develop the field together. As part of the deal, Russia would build an oil pipeline from Angarsk in eastern Siberia to Nakhodha on the Sea of Japan instead of China's proposed pipeline from Angarsk to Daqing in China, it said. The daily said that the loss of Azadegan to China would be a serious blow to Japan because both are competing for energy sources in the Middle East. Return to Menu 7. Russia and China Bid for Iran Oil Deal Russia and China are offering to develop Iran's largest oil field after a Japanese consortium bowed to US pressure last week and suspended negotiations on a deal worth more than $2bn (?1.77bn, �1.23bn). The readiness of Russia and China to enter talks over the giant Azadegan field demonstrates the difficulties facing the Bush administration in its efforts to halt Iran's suspected nuclear weapons programme through economic sanctions. Iran warned that it would start talks with other foreign partners after Japan lost its preferential negotiating rights by a June 30 deadline. Industry officials in Tehran and Tokyo said China and Russia, which are already involved in several big projects in Iran, stepped up as competitors. The loss of Azadegan to China, which is a growing oil importer, would deal a serious blow to Japan. Both are competing for energy sources in the Middle East and are engaged in a high-stakes struggle to secure an oil pipeline from Russia. Japan moved quickly after losing oil rights in Saudi Arabia in 2000 by promising Iran $3bn in credits in exchange for priority negotiating rights over Azadegan. Helped by a visit to Tokyo by the Iranian president, Mohammad Khatami, the deal was seen as a diplomatic coup for Tokyo. But senior US officials, including Colin Powell, the secretary of state, and Condoleezza Rice, the national security adviser, succeeded last month in persuading the Japanese government to tell the consortium not to sign. Washington said the contract would send the wrong signal to Iran just as the international community was coming together to put pressure on the country over its nuclear programme. Russia is already under US pressure to stop the construction of a civilian nuclear reactor in southern Iran which is subject to inspections by the International Atomic Energy Agency. Industry sources said Russia had proposed to Japan that they develop the Azadegan field together. As part of the deal, Russia would build an oil pipeline from Angarsk in eastern Siberia to Nakhodka on the Sea of Japan, instead of China's proposed pipeline from Angarsk to Daqing in China. Russian and Japanese energy officials made progress in talks on Wednesday on the pipeline, Russia's Itar-Tass agency reported from Moscow. A US State Department official said Russia's interest in Azadegan "is on our radar screen". Such a deal would be "very problematic" for the US, he added. Such is the degree of nervousness over the issue in Tokyo that officials are concerned the US may encourage Russia to opt for the proposed Chinese pipeline as a warning to Japan not to go against US wishes in Iran. Japan's hopes now rest mainly on Iran complying with international demands to open up all its nuclear facilities to inspection. Return to Menu 8. Russia, France Urge Iran to Sign Nuclear Protocol in Immediate Future Russia and France on Tuesday urged Iran to sign an additional protocol on the development of its nuclear program, and expressed hope that the forthcoming visit of the top U.N. nuclear monitor to Tehran will pave the way for greater confidence and closer cooperation with Iran. Russian Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov said talks this week between Iran and Mohamed ElBaradei, head of the International Atomic Energy Agency, could dispel fears about Iran's nuclear aspirations. "The sooner these anxieties are dispelled, the greater the possible cooperation with Iran, including in the sphere of its peaceful nuclear program," Ivanov said after a session of the Russia-France Security Council in Moscow. Russia has put increasing pressure on Iran to sign an additional IAEA protocol which guarantees certain conditions in the development of its nuclear program. French Foreign Minister Dominique de Villepin said France and Russia's positions on Iran coincide and he said he hoped "concrete measures" would be taken after ElBaradei's visit to Tehran, in particular the signing of the protocol. Russia is helping Iran construct a 1,000-megawatt, light-water reactor nuclear plant in the southern port city of Bushehr. Iran insists the plant is solely for generating electricity, but the United States has expressed fears that it could be used to develop nuclear weapons. Return to Menu J. Russia-North Korea 1. Russian Atomic Chief Chimes In on Crisis Russia's atomic energy minister, Alexander Rumyantsev, said Monday that there was no proof that North Korea possesses nuclear warheads. Rumyantsev said in an interview with Russia's ITAR-Tass news agency that Russia will be reacting and taking measures against North Korea's claim to have completed reprocessing the spent nuclear fuel rods at Yongbyon. If someone is making threats with a bomb, safety measures must be taken, he said. The minister also emphasized that if the North Korean nuclear issue is discussed at the United Nations, Russia will be doing its best to solve the issue peacefully. Russia's nuclear-related agencies have not been in touch with North Korea for the past decade, Rumyantsev said. The former Soviet Union, however, supported North Korea's construction of atomic generators and had been in close contact with Pyongyang's nuclear-related officials. Return to Menu 2. US Envoy to Russia on Peaceful Solution to North Korea Issue The US is trying to solve the nuclear problems of Iran and North Korea through a peaceful, diplomatic process, US Ambassador to Russia Alexander Vershbow has told Interfax. "We don't view what we did in Iraq as a model that will necessarily be applied to other situations. But we do of course view as very serious the efforts by Iran and North Korea to pursue nuclear weapons," Vershbow said. Concerning North Korea, Vershbow said that North Korea's attempts to acquire nuclear weapons are a threat to stability not only in the region, but in the world as a whole. "We are prepared for multilateral negotiations involving all the countries most affected by the North Korean provocative conduct," he said, adding that "the goal of these negotiations should be the complete, irreversible and verifiable termination of their nuclear weapons programmes". "We often said that all our actions are on the table for resolving their problem. But it is our intention to solve this through a peaceful, diplomatic process," the US ambassador said. Return to Menu K. Official Statements 1. In Relation to the Signing by Tajikistan of the Agreement for the Application of Safeguards in Connection with the Treaty on the Nonproliferation of Nuclear Weapons and the Additional Protocol to the Agreement The Russian Federation welcomes the signing on July 8 by Tajikistan of the Agreement for the Application of Safeguards in Connection with the Treaty on the Nonproliferation of Nuclear Weapons and the Additional Protocol to the Agreement. This step by the Republic of Tajikistan is a practical contribution to the strengthening of the nonproliferation regime and makes for the establishment of a zone free of nuclear weapons in Central Asia. Return to Menu L. Links of Interest 1. Haass: 'We Can't Meet Most of the Challenges We Face on Our Own' Return to Menu 2. IAEA and Iran Return to Menu 3. Partnership or Competition? Return to Menu 4. Party Time! Return to Menu 5. Rogues and Rhetoric: The 2003 NPT PrepCom Slides Backwards Return to Menu 6. The 34th United Nations Issues Conference - Global Disarmament Regimes: A Future or a Failure? 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. 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. To be automatically removed from our mailing list, click on the following link: Remove Me From The List If you have questions/comments/concerns, please reply to news@216.119.87.134 |
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