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RANSAC Nuclear News, August 28, 2003 Compiled By: RANSAC Staff A. Plutonium Production Reactor Shutdown
 A. Plutonium Production Reactor Shutdown 1. USA to allocate extra funds for nuclear complex in Zheleznogorsk Visiting U.S. Congressman Curt Weldon told Itar-Tass on Wednesday that the United States would allocate additional funds to ensure physical protection of the plutonium reactor in Zheleznogorsk or Krasnoyarsk-26. A visit to this major nuclear weapons center in Central Siberia that still operates a reactor producing weapons-grade plutonium has produced a good impression on the congressman. The Russians have made impressive progress in ensuring the physical protection of the reactor and the storage facilities for the produced plutonium, he said. At the same time, Congressman Weldon believes that $20 million dollars should annually be invested in the complex in the next few years. Besides, three million dollars are required to expand the storage area. Weldon emphasized that the risk that terrorists can get hold of plutonium exists in Russia, the United States and the whole world. He assumes that the U.S. Congress will commit the necessary funds after it considers his repot next week. Zheleznogorsk will start receiving funds in the next few months, he noted. At the same time, Weldon said that his delegation would strongly recommend the Congress to tighten up control over the use of those funds to avoid cases of misappropriation of resources earmarked for the provision of safety at Russian nuclear facilities, which have unfortunately happened in the past, by Russian and American companies and firms. Return to Menu 2. U.S. Given Access to Russia Nuke Facility A U.S. congressional delegation was given access Tuesday to a top secret production and storage site for weapons-grade plutonium, and said Russian officials at the plant were concerned the material could fall into the hands of terrorists. Rep. Curt Weldon, R-Pa., and other lawmakers were the first members of Congress -- and the first Americans -- to set eyes on the underground facility in the closed Siberian city of Zheleznogorsk, the highly secretive cradle of the Soviet Union's nuclear might. "The concern of the officials regarding a terrorist incident is high," Weldon, R-Pa., told a news conference on his return to Moscow. "Especially with the possibility of perhaps Chechen extremists attempting to get access to the site and ... weapons grade materials." "It is absolutely essential that the world understands it is not just Russia's problem," he said. "If terrorists were to get access or acquire one container of plutonium, the impact to the world could be devastating." The visit is part of an initiative by Weldon and other members of Congress on the Armed Service Committee to improve transparency at Russia's nuclear, chemical and biological weapons facilities. The delegation will present their recommendations to Congress next week. Weldon said a particular worry was the replacement of some military security at the site with unarmed civilian personnel due to budget cutbacks. Site officials told Weldon that additional funding of $20 million was needed yearly to upgrade security at Zheleznogorsk. Weldon praised Russian officials who obtained "unprecedented access" for the delegation, including lawmaker Alexei Alexandrov and Atomic Energy Minister Alexander Rumyanstev. Russia, which has shut down 10 other plutonium-producing plants, has continued operating plants at Zheleznogorsk, formerly known as Krasnoyarsk-26, and another site, Seversk, saying they are vital to the power supplies of the cities. With U.S. assistance, Russia has agreed to shut down the plutonium production reactors in Zheleznogorsk and Seversk, but only if two fossil-fuel power plants are built to replace the electricity now supplied by the reactors. The U.S. Energy Department has announced a contract for two American companies to oversee construction of the two coal-burning power plants. The nuclear facilities at Seversk and Zheleznogorsk produce enough plutonium each week to make three nuclear warheads. They are considered among the most dangerous in the world because they are similar in design to the Chernobyl reactor that exploded in 1986. Weldon said that officials at the plant had not expressed particular concern about the safety of the reactor's structure. The congressional delegation included Rep. Solomon Ortiz, D-Texas, Silvestre Reyes, D-Texas, Nydia Velazquez, D-N.Y., and Corrine Brown, D-Fla. Return to Menu B. Chemical and Biological Weapons 1. War chemicals, from Russia with love It has long been known that during the Soviet era the USSR established and maintained a large-scale and robust program of both biological and chemical warfare. It is equally well known that at the same time as immense exertions were being made to sustain these programs, the Soviet government was a signatory of treaties banning these forms of warfare. Yet nothing happened, and these programs remained opaque to foreign inspectors throughout the Soviet period. Worse yet, throughout the 1990s, the Russian military successfully stonewalled both the government and the international community with regard to full disclosure of the size, location and scope of these programs, and constantly complained that it could not undertake chemical demilitarization because it had no money for this, even though Moscow fought two wars during that time. And the state also successfully stonewalled foreign governments using the same excuses, as well as others. Recently, Moscow claims to have undertaken chemical demilitarization, but that program will take years to complete, if it is ever completed, and will last at least through 2012, provided that foreign funding is made available. In effect, the cry for more foreign money to come in and destroy those weapons amounts to blackmail that if this money is not forthcoming, the weapons will not be destroyed. While substantial sums have been remitted to Russia under the Cooperative Threat Reduction Program, otherwise known as the Nunn-Lugar Act, to date only about 1 percent of an estimated 43,000 tons of nerve gas and blister agents have been destroyed in the past decade. Meanwhile, Russia is still refusing to admit foreign inspectors into the country to verify its biological and chemical warfare holdings and the ongoing destruction of these programs according to international agreements and treaties. Naturally this failure has led Senator Richard Lugar, one of America's most thoughtful foreign policy experts and an author of the program for reducing these arsenals, to warn that Russia is endangering continued funding of the program by the US Congress, which will not appropriate funds for continuing obstruction. This obstruction may be what the Russian military - the last great unreformed Soviet bastion inside Russia - wants. During the 1990s there were numerous reports of officers and officials in the chemical warfare program attempting to sell their knowledge or holdings to foreign governments like Syria. At the same time, virtually every Middle Eastern state has an ongoing chemical and/or biological warfare program that could only benefit from more holdings and technical knowhow. Since virtually anything in the way of weapons can be bought from Russia, Belarus or Ukraine, which often function as surrogates for Russian arms deals that Moscow does not wish to see advertised, the danger of proliferation of these stocks is immense. Nor is it a danger of proliferation only to states. We know that al-Qaeda and groups affiliated with it or various Palestinian outfits have expressed interest in acquiring such weapons, and through their connections to Iran or other governments those states could easily serve as middlemen or brokers for such transactions. This would not be so shocking a transaction as one might think. Proliferation from Russia, its surrogates, and China continues, often through covert channels and it would not be hard for them to do this. After all, before September 11, 2001, there were reports in the American press that Russian intelligence had sold to al-Qaeda a US encryption machine sold to it by the convicted spy Robert Hanssen and the efforts by al-Qaeda, and presumably other such terrorist groups, to penetrate or make deals with the Russian mafia are well known. We need only remember the story of a Russian Kilo-Class submarine that turned up in Colombia to see the dimensions of such covert weapons sales. Similarly, in January 2000, Great Britain confiscated Scud missile components with chemical and biological weapons warheads that were destined for Libya and which had originated supposedly with a Taiwanese company. Thus the danger of such proliferation is constant and ubiquitous. And it would be relatively simple to arrange the sale of Russian chemical or biological weapons. The US General Accounting Office reported in March this year that 65 percent of Russia's nerve gas stockpile is "unsecured" and that it will take 40 years to destroy Russia's chemical stockpile at current rates. Russia's behavior to date regarding these chemical and biological weapons also casts into great doubt the utility of such arms control treaties. If inspections are not to take place and verification is rendered impossible without any penalty, then other states can happily sign treaties and violate them with impunity. That would make a mockery of any arms control treaties and undermines all the arguments made in favor of signing such treaties. Treaties with defects this large are clearly not worth the paper on which they are written. Certainly one motive for Russia's armed forces and bureaucratic obstruction is anti-Americanism and resentment of the idea of letting in foreign inspectors. But another motive is pure greed. Thus Eric Margolis of the Toronto Sun reported in February, 2000 that Russian defectors had reported that Russian intelligence had used what professionals call the "false flag" ploy to obtain millions in aid from America that Israel had persuaded Washington to offer for jobs to keep scientists from going to Arab states or Iran and diverted that funding back into top secret biological weapons programs. Return to Menu C. MPC&A 1. GAN�s Council noted deviations from nuclear material accounting regulations The Gosatomnadzor�s of Russia (GAN) Council reviewed the activities within the state system for nuclear material control and accounting of as well as results of regulatory control over the physical protection of nuclear and radiation hazardous facilities. The nuclear safety authority�s press-service reports the GAN�s Council meeting held August 26 lead by the Chairman Andrei Malyshev, was attended by representatives from Minatom of Russia, Ministry of Transport, Rossudostroenie, Chief-of-Command of Internal Troops of Ministry of Interior (MVD), Federal Security Service (FSB), Rosenergoatom Concern, Kurchatov Institute, SPA Radon, Russian Academy of Sciences, MIFI Institute. The Council noted that GAN, while supervision over the state system for nuclear materials control and accounting of, within its jurisdiction participates in development of the state system for nuclear materials control and accounting of. By present the regulatory, technical and methodological bases for the supervisory activities have been created. The Provisions for the State System for Nuclear Material Control and Accounting of has been approved. The inspectors� professional training is underway. The mere system functions on the basis of federal, institutional and utility level documents. The work continues to improve all level regulations; information support and reporting system (FIS); technical, methodological and metrological support; professional personnel training. The Council also noted that since the state system for nuclear materials control and accounting of is incomplete yet, there are cases of deviation from the regulatory requirements, anomalies in nuclear material accounting of, organizational deficiencies in the utilities. The Council outlined measures to eliminate the said deficiencies. Return to Menu 2. State Nuclear & Radiation Safety Board on Flaws in Assessment and Control of Nuclear Material Storage On Wednesday the board of Russia's Federal Nuclear and Radiation Safety Inspection /Gosatomnadzor/ considered the state of the current system of state assessment and control of stored nuclear materials. The board was presided over by Chairman Andrei Malyshev. "The establishment of the state assessment and control system has not yet been completed. Some areas still need development", said the Gosatomnadzor press service. "It is, particularly, the formation of the required standard base; information support and the assessment papers; technical, methodical and metrological support; the training of professional workers". The board also said that many violations of the norms have been registered, the assessment of stored nuclear materials is not always up to the mark, organisational faults exist in some organisations of the Nuclear Energy Ministry and other bodies using nuclear materials. The Gosatomnadzor board has mapped out steps to eliminate the detected faults in the system and to improve the its own supervision methods, said the Gosatomnadzor press service. Return to Menu D. Multilateral Threat Reduction 1. Finland to Contribute to Upping Nuclear Safety in North-Western Russia Finland reaffirms its readiness to allocate 10 mln euros to increased nuclear safety in the north-west of Russia, Seppo Kauppila, counsellor for the Finnish Foreign Ministry, said. "Although the Finns' share is small, it is an important breakthrough in the political field and a confirmation of Finland's readiness to contribute to increased radiological safety in the north of Europe", the diplomat told the MTV Finnish commercial television. The project's total sum is several hundred mln euros. The Finnish share is 10 mln euros, of which 8 mln will go to updating the Leningradskaya and Kola nuclear power plants, and 2 mln to the utilization of discarded nuclear submarines of the Northern fleet. The Netherlands, Norway, Sweden, Denmark and Russia will allocate 10 mln euros each. The EU commission is going to contribute 50 mln euros. In addition, Great Britain and France have voiced interest in establishing the ecological partnership fund for the Russia's Northwest. This fund will be part of the Finnish-initiated Northern Dimension concept. The ecological partnership fund is intended to provide support to 16 nuclear safety and 12 other ecological projects. Return to Menu E. RDDs 1. IAEA Assists Georgia to Reveal Radioactive Sources The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) will assist Georgia to reveal radioactive sources in the country by installing special equipment at the customs check-points. The agreement was reached during a three-day visit of the IAEA delegation to Georgia on August 25-27. The Georgian Ministry of Environment reports that in the near future the special equipment to reveal radioactive sources will be handed over to the Ministry of State Security. Return to Menu F. US-Russia 1. Russia Turns From Old Allies to U.S. - N. Korea Urged to Cooperate in Talks For each of the previous two years, Russia has hosted the leader of North Korea on lavish railroad excursions fit for visiting royalty. This year, however, has brought no train trip for Kim Jong Il, only Russian warships floating off the coast of North Korea. Russian armed forces are conducting an elaborate series of military exercises in the Far East, in part to prepare for any refugee crisis that might occur should North Korea's government collapse or become involved in a war with the United States. Officials in the North Korean capital, Pyongyang, were so offended at the exercises that they angrily denounced them and refused to send observers. The flap demonstrated that the North can no longer count on unstinting support from Moscow as it seeks to deflect international condemnation of its nuclear weapons program. Heading into the six-nation talks that open in Beijing on Wednesday, Russia has pushed its ally to find common ground with the United States and abandon its atomic ambitions. "The Korean Peninsula should be free from nuclear arms," Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov said last week. In backing away from the Stalinist government, Russia has underscored a broader diplomatic turn away from so-called rogue states since the war in Iraq as it seeks to rebuild its relationship with the United States. Last summer Moscow seemed to go out of its way to court members of President Bush's "axis of evil," negotiating a $40 billion economic agreement with Iraq, proposing construction of five more nuclear reactors in Iran and opening its doors to Kim at a time when Washington wanted to isolate him. A year later, the Kremlin is taking a more cooperative stance with the United States. In the past two months, Russian officials have abandoned talk of expanding their nuclear assistance to Iran and brought new pressure on that country to subject its nuclear program to strict international inspections. Russian diplomats have not led the charge against U.S. postwar Iraq policy at the United Nations. And they have teamed up with China to encourage recalcitrant North Korea to negotiate. "The tide has certainly changed in Russia on foreign policy," said Dmitri Trenin, an analyst at the Carnegie Moscow Center. The transformation has happened "very quietly. It's very interesting. There has been no major statement, nobody has been sacked. But everybody is singing a different tune." Senior policymakers describe it not as a change in substance, but in calibration. Mikhail Margelov, an adviser to President Vladimir Putin and chairman of the international affairs committee of the Federation Council, the upper house of parliament, attributed the new harmony to better coordination to avoid misunderstandings. "Today we have much in common," he said in an interview. "What we have managed to achieve in the last few months, especially after the Iraqi crisis . . . [is] to establish a more efficient level of communications." After all, he added, "when it comes to Iran and when it comes to North Korea, definitely neither Russia nor the United States wants these countries to have the nuclear bomb." Other officials and analysts see two imperatives behind the shift in Russia -- Moscow's fear of being shut out of major global decisions, as it was during the Iraq war, and its creeping realization that Iran and North Korea may actually pose a serious threat. "Russia wants to be respected and seen as a country that could and should play a significant role in world issues," said U.S. Rep. Curt Weldon (R-Pa.), a leading congressional figure on Russian relations, who was in the country today visiting a once-secret weapons-grade plutonium facility in the Siberian city of Zheleznogorsk. To encourage this, he said, Washington needs to reciprocate, and the first thing it should do is lift three-decade-old trade restrictions. Even so, Russia's newfound cooperation may not fully satisfy Washington's demands. Moscow still refuses, for example, to give up its $800 million contract to finish a nuclear power facility at the Iranian port of Bushehr and has echoed North Korea's proposal that the United States promise not to attack the North as part of any settlement of the nuclear crisis. Washington has so far resisted giving such security guarantees. Undersecretary of State John Bolton left Moscow today after talks with senior Russian officials on these issues. U.S. diplomats have been pushing Moscow to bring the issue of Iran's nuclear program to the United Nations, but Russian officials are still mulling their response. For years, Russia has ignored or denied evidence that its scientists who went to Iran were helping it develop missiles and nuclear weapons. Yet a key moment in the evolution of Russia's attitude, according to officials on both sides, was the disclosure by Iranian opposition figures of the existence of two secret nuclear facilities in addition to Bushehr that could support a weapons development program. Publicly, Russian officials shrugged it off. But Moscow has since pushed Iran to sign agreements obligating it to return to Russia all spent nuclear fuel from Bushehr and accept short-notice inspections by the International Atomic Energy Agency. Russia conducted back-to-back talks here in Moscow with South Korean and North Korean officials and enlisted China's leadership in putting together this week's multiparty negotiations. The Far East military exercises, which also planned for what would happen if a North Korean vessel bearing a nuclear weapon had to be stopped, "were not a PR exercise," said Trenin. "I think they were damn serious." Vasily Mikheyev, a former Russian diplomat who served in Pyongyang, said the Kremlin has found it easier to turn away from North Korea because it has only minor economic ties to its small neighbor. By contrast, the extensive oil interests in Iraq helped drive Russian opposition to the U.S. war there. Now that the war is over, Moscow wants to secure contracts for its oil companies. Return to Menu G. Russia-Iran 1. Report: Russia and Iran may sign agreement on returning spent nuclear fuel Russia and Iran may use an upcoming meeting of the U.N. atomic agency to sign an agreement requiring the return to Russia of all spent nuclear fuel from a reactor that Moscow is helping the Iranians build, the Interfax news agency reported Wednesday. Russia's Atomic Energy Minister Alexander Rumyantsev is planning to attend the International Atomic Energy Agency's Sept. 15-18 general session in Vienna and may use a meeting with Iranian officials to sign the protocol, Interfax said, citing the Atomic Energy Ministry. Russia, which faces criticism from the United States over its nuclear cooperation with Iran, has said it will not ship any fuel for the reactor in the Persian Gulf city of Bushehr until an agreement on the return of the spent fuel is in place. The Russian government last Friday approved a draft agreement on the return of the fuel, and officials said Monday that an agreement would be signed by the end of September. Iran's ambassador to Russia said in early June that Iran was ready to sign the agreement but that Russia needed to sort out internal obstacles linked to its environmental protection legislation. The agreement is aimed at ensuring that Iran would not be able to get plutonium, which can be derived from reprocessing spent fuel from reactors. It appears to be an effort to alleviate some of Washington's concerns. Fears about a secret Iranian nuclear weapons program were heightened this week after a report that U.N. experts found traces of highly enriched uranium at a facility south of Tehran. Highly enriched uranium is a component of some nuclear warheads, and the find, cited in a report prepared for a top-level meeting of the International Atomic Energy Agency, raised more questions about the nature of Iran's nuclear program. Iranian officials have said that the equipment already had traces of enriched uranium when it was purchased by them, and have maintained that their nuclear program is exclusively devoted to generating electricity. Return to Menu 2. Russia wants Iran arms proof before dumping n-aid Russia will only drop plans to help Iran build a nuclear reactor if the U.N. nuclear watchdog presents evidence Tehran is secretly developing banned weapons, a Russian Atomic Energy Ministry official said on Thursday. Despite fresh U.S. pressure to back off on its nuclear aid to Iran, Russia has pressed ahead with plans to build the reactor at the port of Bushehr and may sign a key deal on this with Tehran in coming days, officials said. "Only if the IAEA offers concrete evidence, then we would think twice about this project. So far it's pure politics," the official said on condition on anonymity. "If proof of any such violation is presented and if the international community consequently adopts a corresponding resolution on Iran, then of course we would comply with international law and act accordingly." The IAEA is set to hold a crucial meeting in September to decide whether Tehran has breached the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty. The body said in a recent report obtained by Reuters it had found traces of weapons-grade uranium in Iran. The United States, which has accused Iran of seeking a clandestine nuclear arms programme, again urged Russia on Wednesday to sever nuclear ties with Tehran. State Department deputy spokesman Phillip Reeker said Washington believed no country should engage in nuclear cooperation with Iran until Tehran satisfied IAEA security requirements. "But so far no one has presented any concrete evidence to us. Our talks with the Iranians are under way, and our position is unchanged. We can't adjust it every time the Americans say something on the subject," the Russian official said. Interfax news agency quoted an Atomic Energy Ministry official as saying Moscow expected no "unpleasant surprises" from the forthcoming meeting of the IAEA board. "We can only hope the situation normalises soon," he said. The IAEA office in Vienna was unavailable for comment. Moscow said earlier this week Russia and Iran may sign in September an agreement requiring Tehran to return nuclear waste to Moscow -- a move some see as aimed at alleviating U.S. pressure ahead of a key Russia-U.S. summit next month. Itar-Tass news agency, quoting Atomic Energy Ministry spokesman Nikolai Shingaryov, said Russia and Iran intended to sign the agreement in Moscow before the IAEA meeting in Vienna. Return to Menu 3. Russian keen to proceed with Iran`s nuke program Russia`s Atomic Energy Ministry here on Thursday dismissed the prospect of stopping nuclear cooperation with Iran for peaceful purpose. A ministry official told the Russian Interfax news agency that there is no reasonable ground for ending Russia`s collaboration with Iran in the field. "Iran and Russia are currently working jointly on a single atomic project, namely that of Bushehr Nuclear Power Plant, whose construction is underway," he added. He underlined that Iran-Russia joint cooperation is based on international law and is supervised by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). "Iran has so far displayed good will concerning its nuclear program and has opened its related installations to international inspectors," he added. Confirming existence of enriched uranium in Iran`s nuclear installations, he noted that despite concerns caused by reports on the issue, further explanation will eliminate the worries. He denounced chances of any unpleasing decision to be taken at the upcoming meeting of IAEA board of governor slated for September 8. The official hoped that everything will be solved under normal conditions, given that Iran has already announced its readiness for assessing the proposed additional protocol to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT). The report added that the remarks are made in response to the recent allegations of a US State Department spokesman on the agreement to be inked between the two states on return of Iran`s used nuclear fuel to Russia. The US official has called for end of cooperation of world countries with Iran, specially its joint nuclear program with Russia. Return to Menu 4. Minatom plans to sign Bushehr INF return protocol within a month, official says Minatom of Russia plans to sign the protocol of return of irradiated nuclear fuel (INF) from Iranian Bushehr nuclear plant within a month�s time, as Nuclear.Ru was told by Valery Govorukhin, the state secretary and deputy minister of atomic energy. He said the agreement in principle had been reached long ago and there were no obstacles to the signing. �Now we are to agree with the Iranian side on the specific date and place of signing the Bushehr INF return protocol�, he said adding that Minatom of Russia supposes the signing would take place in Moscow as soon as the Iranian side confirms it is ready to sign. He also explained that the upcoming meetings to agree on the date and place would be held on the working level and handled by the Department for international and external economic cooperation of Minatom of Russia and Embassy of Iran to Moscow. The deputy minister stressed that Iran�s signing of the Additional Protocol with IAEA would in no way affect and be linked with the signing of Bushehr INF return protocol. �The signing of the Additional Protocol on application of safeguards is the voluntary decision of a country, said Govorukhin. �Russia has always called for and would welcome such decision of Iran�. Meanwhile, August 26 in Moscow US Undersecretary of State on non-proliferation John Bolton had a working meeting with RF Minister of Atomic Energy Alexander Rumyantsev to discuss issues of bilateral nuclear cooperation and non-proliferation, in particular, the interaction with Iran. According to Govorukhin, the meting was constructive and the conversation � specific and frank. �Our points of view are similar or close on many aspects, however, there are disagreements but they are not crucial�, the deputy minister said adding that the regular consultation mechanism is sufficiently effective since it allows for matching positions and views on that of other situation. As regards the US concerns about Iran�s nuclear program, Govorukhin noted that it still remains. �The US reprehends Iran�s lack of transparency and continues claiming that Iran�s nuclear program may have a military trend, while Russia, without confirmation and concrete facts of Iran�s implementing nuclear programs doesn�t support such assessments�, Govorukhin said. He also noted that until Iran fulfills its commitments before IAEA, there would be no obstacles for cooperation between Russia and Iran in the field of peaceful uses of atomic energy. This also deals with the joint work to construct Busherh-1 as well as further units if such decision is made. According to December 2002 agreements reached during Minister Rumyantsev�s visit to Iran, JSC Atomstroyexport handed over to the Iranian side the feasibility study on construction of Busherh-2. According to Govorukhin, there are three options for construction of power units in Iran: continue unit 2 construction started by Siemens of Germany many years ago; start from the scratch the construction of a new power unit against Russia�s design on Bushehr site; or construct two new power units against Russia�s design on Akhvaz site. �Now the Iranian side is to review these documents�, the deputy minister said noting the handing over of the Russian feasibility study does not predetermine anything because it is the Iranian side to make the decision. �We have always stood for other countries� participation in development of nuclear power in Iran�, stressed Govorukhin. Return to Menu 5. Russia Stands a Good Chance to Participate in Building Iran's Nuclear Power Plant Russia has a good chance to participate in building the second unit of the 1,000-megawatt nuclear power station Bushehr in Iran, Hossein Afarideh, chairman of the Majlis Energy Commission, said in an exclusive RIA Novosti interview. "At a recent session, the supreme energy council of the Islamic Republic took the decision to begin the construction of the second unit of the Bushehr nuclear power station," said Afarideh. He specially stressed that, as Iran's neighbour, Russia plays a very important role in bilateral energy co-operation. There are no problems in the relevant interaction between Moscow and Teheran, said the chairman of the Majlis Energy Commission. Return to Menu H. Russia-North Korea 1. Final document to reflect results of six-party talks on Korea The participants in the six-sided talks on North Korea's nuclear programme agreed on principles to be reflected in a final document, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Losyukov said. Losyukov is leading a Russian delegation at the six-party talks in Beijing. The talks also involve delegates from North Korea, China, the U.S., Japan and South Korea. Russia "has tried to rivet attention to the positive results" of the talks, Losyukov said. "The Chinese delegation supported us and other delegations took constructive positions," he noted. Thus, "special attention was paid to the following - reaction on each other's concerns, which is more important for the American and North Korean sides, and synchronisation of movement by all parties of the talks: step-by-step and in one direction," the Russian diplomat said. "The fact that the talks were held rather constructively and difficultly is positive," Losyukov told journalists on Thursday. He is leading a Russian delegation at the six-nation talks on North Korea's nuclear programme. "As a whole, the talks were very useful because it gave an opportunity of receiving full information on the sides' positions. The positions are different on many aspects. The fact that we exchanged views and may agree on the next round of talks is not a bad result," the Russian diplomat stressed. He said a final document "has been coordinated in principle and it may be adopted tomorrow." The diplomat stressed that the document "will take into account all sides' views and the analysis of the results of the current round of talks." In the document the participants in the talks have expressed hope for continuing the negotiations on this problem, he added. Losyukov noted that all sides agreed, in principle, on the contents of the document, but "North Korean colleagues should contact with Pyongyang" to give its approval for it. Losyukov said the document on the results of the current round of talks has been coordinated. He stressed that it "has been coordinated in principle and it may be adopted tomorrow." Losyukov said the next round of talks on North Korea's nuclear programme will be held within two months in Beijing. "All participants in the talks understand that the next round of talks should not be delayed and it should be held within two months," he said. The sides agreed that the talks "should take place in Beijing," Losyukov stressed. "North Korea has no objections," the deputy minister added. Return to Menu 2. Losyukov: it's unlikely N Korea has nuclear weapons Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Losyukov said it is unlikely that North Korea has nuclear weapons. "It is unlikely that North Korea has nuclear weapons," he told journalists on Thursday. Losyukov is leading a Russian delegation at the six-nation talks on North Korea's nuclear programme. "Our experts believe that North Korea has no nuclear weapons, but certain research work in Pyongyang may result in corresponding technologies: But this does not mean that it has nuclear weapons," the Russian diplomat said. "North Korea may have any nuclear facilities and not nuclear weapons," Losyukov said. At the same time, he noted, "Specialists in the U.S. believe that North Korea may work on a nuclear programme." In their view, "It may be nuclear charges or warheads," Losyukov stressed. He said a document on the results of the six-sided talks on North Korea's nuclear programme has been coordinated. He pointed out that the document "has been coordinated in principle and it may be adopted tomorrow." Losyukov said the next round of talks on North Korea's nuclear programme will be held within two months in Beijing. "All participants in the talks understand that the next round of talks should not be delayed and it should be held within two months," he said. The sides agreed that the talks "should take place in Beijing," Losyukov stressed. "North Korea has no objections," the deputy minister added. Return to Menu 3. RF diplomat describes atmosphere at Beijing talks as tense Despite superficial calm in Beijing at the six-sided talks on North Korea's nuclear programme, "the atmosphere was tense," Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Losyukov said. Losyukov, who is leading a Russian delegation to the talks, told journalists on Thursday, "Of course, it will be difficult to expect any smooth talks that would lead to the solution of the existing problems." In his words, "A great distance divides the U.S. and North Korea's positions." To this end, the participants in the talks, including the Russian and Chinese delegations, "made attempts to create an atmosphere that would help reduce distrust," the Russian diplomat said. Losyukov said Beijing round of talks on North Korea's nuclear programme is useful despite certain disagreements. "The fact that the talks were held rather constructively and difficultly is positive," Losyukov said. "As a whole, the talks were very useful because it gave an opportunity of receiving full information on the sides' positions. The positions are different on many aspects. The fact that we exchanged views and may agree on the next round of talks is not a bad result," the Russian diplomat stressed. He pointed out that during the talks, the sides coordinated positions that should be reflected in a final document. The next round of talks will be held in the Chinese capital within two months, he said. Commenting on the sides' positions, Losyukov said, "Russia has the most common positions with China and rather serious disagreements with the U.S. and North Korea." Speaking about interaction between the Russian and U.S. delegations, Losyukov said, "Both sides understand what has happened and what they should do." At the same time, he added, "It seems to Russian diplomats Washington should go further on certain problems" in order to settle the situation on the Korean peninsula. On Japan's position, Losyukov said Tokyo "has its specific stance on Korea's nuclear programme. It's very important for it to solve the problem of missing people." Japan's delegation "raised this question very accurately and expressed willingness to solve it at a bilateral basis, with North Korea," he said. Return to Menu 4. Conflict over DPRK may flare up if talks fail The conflict over the DPRK may flare up if the talks in Beijing fail, Alexander Losyukov, the Russian deputy foreign minister, who heads the Russian delegation at the six-sided meeting on Pyongyang's nuclear problem, told Tass on Wednesday. "The situation regarding the Korean peninsula may worsen further, with all the potential dangerous involved, if the negotiations break off," he said. "The United States may resorts to some sanctions, to certain measures for the blockade (of the DPRK) and the North Koreans would certainly regard this as a declaration of war, so the conflict will be on the verge of a flare up," Losyukov said. Losyukov described the situation at the talks as being "quite fragile", first of all because of the differences between the United States and the DPRK. "The sides hold rather rigid positions and if they remain on these positions and will not show flexibility, the positive outcome of the talks will be in question," Losyukov said. Return to Menu 5. Head of Russia delegation to 6-way talks urges for active steps The head of the Russian delegation to six-nation talks on North Korean nuclear program has urged its participants "to make active steps towards ensuring a lasting peace, a nuclear-free status of the Korean Peninsula as well as stable and equal security for all states of that region". "The settlement of thorny issues on the Korean Peninsula through negotiations is the only and real way to solve the problems existing there," Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Losyukov said in his opening remarks at the talks. The six-nation meeting, opening in Beijing on Wednesday, "should mark the beginning of a serious multi-lateral and bilateral dialogue," the top diplomat stressed. He believes that process of negotiations should result in "a new quality of the situation in Korea and around it". Russia believes that negotiations "will be productive if all without exception participants in the present round of talks demonstrate good will and constructive approach," he added. Security and stability of the entire region of North-Eastern Asia, its normal political and economic development "would fully meet Russia's interests," the diplomat stressed. Return to Menu 6. Russia Delegate to N. Korea Nuclear Talks: Pyongyang and Washington may Co-Ordinate Their Positions Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Losyukov hopes North Korea and the United States will co-ordinate their positions at the hexapartite Beijing talks on the North Korean nuclear problem. Noting that the sides now starkly differ on this matter, Russian chief delegate Losyukov said to journalists that additional contacts were expected to take place between them to improve the situation. The delegations of China, N. Korea, Russia, the United States, South Korea and Japan are participating in the talks. It is too early to say that all is lost and the talks have failed, said Losyukov. The negotiations will continue on Thursday. We very much hope that "a minimal result will be reached in the form of willingness to get together one more time and continue the talks", stressed the Russian deputy foreign minister. "The hexapartite format has proved to be very instrumental because more and more participants in the negotiating process are interested in its positive outcome", said Losyukov. In his opinion, if the North Korean nuclear problem were discussed in a bilateral format between the United States and North Korea, the talks would have long been wrecked. The hexapartite format is more of a success, the Russian diplomat added. The Russian delegation plans to continue bilateral consultations and meet with the delegations of North Korea and Japan. Return to Menu 7. The Russian Expert does not Exclude the Appearance of an Analogue of the Road Map for North Korea The six-sided negotiations on the Korean problem in Beijing may result in the appearance of a kind of Middle East road map - a stage-by-stage plan for settlement. This opinion was expressed by Alexander Vorontsov, the head of the Korean sector of the Institute of Oriental Studies of the Russian Academy of Sciences, in his interview which he gave to RIA Novosti. Taking part in these negotiations will be representatives of the United States, the DPRK, Russia, Japan, China and South Korea. "It can be said unequivocally that it would be unrealistic to expect a break-through at the first meeting," said Vorontsov. "But it would really be a success if the sides could come to an agreement about the continuation of the negotiation process and would agree with regard to a new meeting," added Alexander Vorontsov. "It is to be hoped that all the sides will show aspiration for finding a constructive decision and will really start working out a compromise. Of course, this will call for a whole series of such meetings," pointed out the expert. "The most important thing, however, is that the first round of the negotiations in the six-sided format would not be the last one," he added. "It can be supposed that within the framework of the six-sided negotiations sub-commissions and additional groups will be set up to study separate problems," believes Vorontsov. "North Korea proposed to conclude a non-aggression treaty with the United States. However, this form cannot work, because such a treaty does not have a chance to be ratified by the Congress. In the course of the negotiations, the sides can come to an agreement about concluding some other kind of document which could be ratified," said Vorontsov. He reminded the correspondent that US Secretary of State Colin Powell , in one of his pronouncements, mentioned the form of a resolution on granting security guarantees to the DPRK. "But this is a subject for negotiations," believes Alexander Vorontsov. Return to Menu I. Russian Nuclear Forces 1. Defence Minister, Naval Commander-in-Chief Talk of Expenditures on Far Eastern Military Exercise The Russian state has spent 350 million roubles /$1 equals approximately 30 roubles/ on preparing and carrying out the recent military exercise near Kamchatka. "At present Russia can afford to spend such sums on military exercises," Russian Defence Minister Sergei Ivanov told journalists on Wednesday. "If we do not conduct such exercises we will risk to lose much more," he pointed out. "We will definitely reimburse part of the sum. This implies not only state security, but also finances," Naval Commander-In-Chief Vladimir Kuroyedov announced in his turn. "Only in this region the Navy returned 2 million roubles to the state by detaining poaching vessels. They confiscated crabs worth 0.5 million roubles and levied fines totalling 1.5 million roubles. And this was on Kamchatka alone," he explained. According to Kuroyedov, the exercise was held on a water area of 3 million sq km and involved 70,000 people, 65 vessels, 7 submarines /5 of them nuclear/, 72 airplanes and helicopters. "I am satisfied with the preparation and conduction of the exercise," the Commander-In-Chief concluded. Return to Menu 2. Russian defense minister praises naval exercise Russian Defense Minister Sergei Ivanov said on Wednesday the large-scale naval maneuvers in the far east and the Pacific Ocean are being held not only in national interests, but also in the interests of neighboring states. Ivanov was commenting on the final stage of the drill ending August 27. "The exercises were for the good of all Asian-Pacific region, at least for its northeastern part," he emphasized. He praised the interaction between various navy units in delivering a practice missile strike at surface targets off Skalisty Bay in the Avachinksy Strait. All the 12 cruise missiles hit the targets, Ivanov said, adding that two nuclear-powered submarines, four small missile boats and seven Tu-22 bombers took part in this element of the drill. The exercise on August 18-27 was aimed at perfecting measures to counteract terrorism, poaching, and environmental disasters. Some 70,000 personnel, 65 surface ships, seven submarines, and 72 aircraft were involved in the exercise. Return to Menu J. Nuclear Industry 1. Russians win Paks bid THE board of Paksi Atomer�mu Rt (Paks), Hungary's sole nuclear power station, has commissioned Russian firm TVEL to carry out repair work resulting from a breakdown in a generating unit on April 10. TVEL beat-off competition for the tender to remove damaged fuel rods in Block-2, one of four main generating units at Paks, from the Franco-German firm Framatome APN. TVEL will remove the damaged fuel rods from a cleaning tank next to the main reactor and place them in safe storage tanks. Following six months of preparation, the work is expected to take around two months at a cost of $4.55 million. The Paks committee, which comprised of independent experts, evaluated both the Russian and Franco-German bids, giving them 182 and 158 points respectively, CEO Istv�n Kocsis said at a press conference following the board meeting on August 18. The damage caused by the April breakdown will be repaired by Russian professionals under the supervision of Hungarian experts. Kov�cs also explained that Framatome lost the bid because it quoted both higher prices and longer deadlines than TVEL, adding that he was not authorized to disclose any details. Framatome has widely been held responsible for the initial problems, dating back to April 10, which has caused Paks daily losses of Ft50 million ($217,000) since May 6, when the unit was expected to go back online following annual maintenance work. The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) also released an official report based on its investigation into the incident which highlighted Framatome's culpability. Nevertheless, the IAEA also held the management of Paks responsible for placing too much faith in the French firm. "The report also pointed out that neither the employees nor the residents of Paks were exposed to the threat of radioactive waste during the breakdown," Chairman of the Board, K�roly Moln�r explained. "In addition, the report mentioned that Kocsis had made all appropriate steps to solve the problem." Negotiations regarding damages payable by Framatome are still in progress, but Kocsis said the French seem to be willing to strike a fair deal. Should talks fail to settle the case within two months, Paks will take it to an arbitration court. What will happen to Block-2, where the incident occurred, is still to be determined, but the management of Paks think that restarting the unit would not pose any threat to safety. Moln�r emphasized that Block-2 is completely intact and operable and that experts are considering the possibility of restarting it while the adjacent tank is being prepared for the removal of damaged fuel rods. However, Ministerial Commissioner Attila Asz�di, who has no authority over the issue, was strongly opposed to the idea of restarting the block for safety reasons. Since the incident occurred Paks has suffered losses of more than Ft29.8 million ($130,000). By implementing the Russian plans and "taking all aspects of safety into consideration", there is a good chance of putting Block-2 back into operation within a year, Kocsis said. _ On April 10 the cleaning tank cooling system, provided and maintained by Framatome, failed, causing the 30 uranium fuel rods immersed into the tank, to overheat. Paks provides almost 40% of Hungary's total electricity needs. Following the incident that figure dropped almost 30%. Return to Menu K. Official Statements 1. Introduction Remarks by Russian Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Alexander Losyukov at the Opening of the Six-Way Talks in Beijing, August 27, 2003 Esteemed colleagues, I would like first of all to greet all the participants in the six-way talks in Peking on resolving the situation on the Korean Peninsula and express the hope that the opportunity opening as a result of the long joint efforts to examine all the aspects of this complicated problem "at the round table" will successfully be used in the interests of peace and stability in this important area of the world. I address words of especial gratitude to our Chinese colleagues who have exerted considerable efforts to organize and hold the talks and have provided excellent facilities for our work. We consider that the present meeting should mark the start of a serious, meaningful multilateral and bilateral dialogue, the outcome of which, in its turn, will be a new quality of the situation in Korea and around it. The Russian representatives have arrived in Beijing with an intention to contribute whatever they can to this important job, equally necessary for all of us, and also with the conviction that it will turn out to be fruitful if all the participants of this round without exception show goodwill and a constructive approach. As Confucius said, "It is better to light a candle than to damn darkness." It is important that we should be ready, if necessary, to take after the first step a second and a third energetic steps towards the safeguarding of a lasting peace, the de-nuclearized status of the Korean Peninsula, stability and equal security for all the states located in this region. Three years ago we became witnesses of the promising shifts in inter-Korean relations that marked the beginning of a meaningful intra-national dialogue and the drawing closer of both parts of Korea. This tendency ought to be restored. Here, in Beijing, we perceive our task by joint efforts to establish and strengthen an atmosphere of mutual trust and understanding between North and South which would become an earnest of security and stability of the whole Northeast Asia region and of its normal political and economic development. This would fully meet the interests of Russia. A negotiated settlement of the knotty issues on the Korean Peninsula is the only real way to solve the deep problems existing there. We hope that the step on this road that we are together taking today will lead us to the objective set. The Russian delegation is ready for constructive work and it is open for active cooperation with all the participants of our talks. Thank you for your attention. Return to Menu 2. Daily Press Briefing (excerpted) [�] QUESTION: Can we talk a little bit about Iran? MR. REEKER: Sure. QUESTION: Given that this new IAEA report is out there now, there was a -- there have been reports out of Moscow today that the Iranians are prepared to sign an agreement with the Russians, and that the Russians are -- you know that, to send waste back to Russia -- and that this would clear the way for the Russians soon to provide fuel for Bushehr. Is that -- what do you think about that? Do you think that -- especially since Under Secretary Bolton has just been in Moscow -- is that your understanding of the way things go -- are going? Are you concerned? Do you still believe that the Russians are going to send that fuel soon to Bushehr? MR. REEKER: A number of those questions are obviously things you need to ask the Russians. I am not going to try to speak for them or characterize them. Let's just -- QUESTION: But Bolton was just there. MR. REEKER: Let's just, yeah, let's start with that, since Bolton was just there. We talked a bit about that yesterday. Under Secretary Bolton, in fact, yesterday, Tuesday, was in Paris, where he met with French Deputy Secretary General for Political and Security Affairs Stanislas Lefevre de Laboulaye to discuss a wide range of nonproliferation issues that included discussions in advance of the September 8th meeting of the Board of Governors of the IAEA that will take place in Geneva. That will address concerns -- sorry. Pardon me, Vienna, yeah -- that will address concerns about the Iranian nuclear program. They also had the opportunity to discuss North Korea and the Proliferation Security Initiative. Today Under Secretary Bolton is in Rome for discussions with Italian officials. He had met Monday, as we discussed yesterday, with Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Kislyak to address a wide range of nonproliferation issues with them as well. It is really the latest in a series of ongoing discussions with the Russians about that. One of the subjects, obviously, is the issue of Iran and our concerns about that. He also met, I think I mentioned it yesterday, with the Russian Minister of Atomic Energy, Rumyantsev, and the purpose was, again, to consult with the Russians prior to the September 8th meeting in Vienna. So I guess, then, to step to the next part of your question, we clearly have concerns about Iran, about their nuclear programs. There's nothing new in that. We have made that quite clear. In terms of the IAEA, the Director General's report on Iran's nuclear program has been circulated to the 35 members of the International Atomic Energy Agency's Board of Governors. It has not yet been released to the public, and even though you all think you have copies of the authentic text, I am just not in a position to really comment on it or discuss anything that is purported to be in the report. We do find Iran's nuclear activities troubling. We have talked about that for some time We think that Iran's nuclear ambitions prevent -- present a serious challenge to the entire international community, and specifically to the International Atomic Energy Agency and the international nuclear nonproliferation regime, which is based on the Nonproliferation Treaty. And so we have been looking forward, as we review the report, to discussing it September 8th, in Vienna, and to meeting with the other IAEA board members, and to coordinate an appropriately strong response to the report. But I am not going to try to shadow or preview that now. We have steadfastly supported the IAEA effort to bring about the facts of Iran's nuclear program, to bring those facts to light. And until Iran has fully satisfied IAEA's questions and fully addressed the concerns of the international community, including a full, immediate and unconditional implementation of the additional protocol, which we have discussed before, then we believe that no country should be engaging in nuclear cooperation with Iran, and that is the view that we expressed to Russia as well. A follow-up? QUESTION: Can I just finish, because my question was actually a little more specific than that. The fact that the Russians are saying today that Iran has agreed to sign this agreement under which they would commit to send this nuclear waste back to Moscow or back to Russia, therefore clearing the way for the Russians to continue cooperation with Iran and, in fact, to go and give them the spent fuel they need to start up Bushehr, did Under Secretary Bolton get any commitments? How do you view those reports? Do you find them accurate? Do they comport with what -- MR. REEKER: I can't -- okay. I think I answered at least half of that question. In terms of finding them accurate, I've seen the reports, you'd have to ask the Russians. I can't comment on Russians or commitments that Iran has reported to have made to Russia. In terms of our views of the overall situation, as I just said, until Iran satisfies the IAEA's questions and fully addresses the concerns of the international community, including full, immediate, unconditional implementation of the additional protocol, to the Nonproliferation Treaty, we believe that no country should be engaging with Iran in nuclear cooperation, and that would include Russia. So that is our concern. Iran has an opportunity to address these concerns, and it is obviously a subject we will discuss in Vienna when the Board of Governors meets. QUESTION: Well, I mean, how do you feel about Russia, though? They continue to do this, apparently, and yet, you know, they're seated at the table with you in Beijing, you know, trying to put the North Korean -- MR. REEKER: Well, they are very different situation, Carol. QUESTION: Well, they're both proliferation. MR. REEKER: I mean, there is not a cookie-cutter approach to proliferation or any other issue in diplomacy, as you well know. We have ongoing discussions with Russia about dozens and dozens of issues. We are working with Russia on the North Korea issue. They are, as you pointed out, one of the six parties in Beijing on these talks. They have made their own public statements about their views on the need for a non-nuclear Korean Peninsula. On the issue of nuclear cooperation with Russia, we have had -- with Iran, we have had differences with Russia on this, and we have been quite clear about that. We have had a series of discussions including the discussions that Under Secretary Bolton has participated in in both capitals and at other opportunities, and it is something, clearly, we can discuss in the multilateral forum of the IAEA Board of Governors meeting, where we have the report from the IAEA to review, and to discuss, and to come up with an appropriately strong response to that report. So it is an ongoing process, and something that we will obviously keep well engaged with the Russians on. [�] Return to Menu 3. Daily Press Briefing (excerpted) [�] QUESTION: Yeah, on Iran. Is this -- Iran was one of the topics of conversation with Under Secretary Bolton and Russian officials in Moscow yesterday and today? And I'm wondering if you have anything to say about the Russian decision to continue its nuclear cooperation with Iran, despite your concerns. MR. REEKER: I have just seen some wire reports on that. I checked with Under Secretary Bolton's office. He did meet with the Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Kislyak yesterday, I guess, Monday in Moscow, to address a wide range of nonproliferation issues. As you know, that was the latest in a series of meetings he's had with Russian counterparts. This morning, he met with the Russian Minister of Atomic Energy Rumyantsev, and the purpose of that meeting was to hold consultations in advance of the International Atomic Energy Agency Board of Governors meeting, the one I just mentioned that's taking place September 8th in Vienna and that is going to address these concerns about the Iranian nuclear program. So Under Secretary Bolton left Russia. I don't have any additional readouts from those meetings. He is in Paris right now for consultations with French officials on Iran, as well as North Korea and the Proliferation Security Initiative. [�] QUESTION: Sir, do you expect any significant change in Russian position on Iran? I mean, do you expect they will stop their nuclear aid to Iran in -- MR. REEKER: I think that is a question you really have to direct to the Russian Government. QUESTION: Okay. MR. REEKER: I can't begin to speak for them. I do a bad enough job speaking for our government. QUESTION: Yeah, I know that Deputy Foreign Minister Kislyak was here, so I hoped you know. MR. REEKER: We certainly made clear our concerns about Iran and their nuclear programs, and we've talked about it a number of times from here. There was enough concern that the International Atomic Energy Agency and the international community, more broadly, has taken a real interest and realized this. And so I will just go back to what I said a little bit earlier about the steps we think Iran has to take. And we continue to discuss with Russia their connections with Iran on that, and we are hoping that any country that has the opportunity to make clear to Iran the importance of addressing these concerns. [�] Return to Menu L. Links of Interest 1. The Future of Nuclear Power 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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