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RANSAC Nuclear News, October 20, 2003 Compiled By: Matthew Bouldin A. Chemical Weapons Destruction
 A. Chemical Weapons Destruction 1. RUSSIA, U.S. WOULD LIKE TO EXTEND THE TIMEFRAME OF CHEMICAL WEAPONS DISPOSAL IN THEIR TERRITORIES THE HAGUE, October 20 (RIA Novosti correspondent Alexander Dobrovolsky) - The Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons begins its session on Monday in the Hague. Delegations from 157 countries, including Russia, which joined the Convention on the Prohibition of the Development, Stockpiling and the Use of Chemical Weapons will take part in the conference. Israel, Chad, Libya and a number of other non-member countries will attend the conference as observers. Gennady Lutai, deputy permanent representative of the Russian Federation to the Organization, said that one of the main questions that will be discussed at the conference will be the request of a number of countries, including Russia and the USA, to extend the timeframe of chemical weapons disposal in their territory. The conference participants will also analyze Convention member-countries' fulfillment of the national measures to dispose of chemical weapons stockpiles and the Organization's program of action for 2004. The session participants will elect members of the Organization's executive council. This ruling body, consisting of 41 members, controls the practical implementation on the Convention by its member-countries. The conference will last till October 24. Return to Menu 2. SESSION OF THE CHEMICAL WEAPONS PROHIBITION CONFERENCE OPENS IN THE HAGUE THE HAGUE, October 20, 2003. (RIA Novosti) - The eighth session of the conference of the member-countries of the Organisation on the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons started its work in The Hague on Monday. At this session, which will last till October 24, its participants will consider the question of prolonging the third stage of the disposal by Russia of its stockpile of chemical weapons, according to which it has to dispose of 45% of its warfare chemical agents by April 29, 2004. They will also discuss the delay in the carrying out by Russia of the second stage which provides for the disposal of 20 % of chemical agents. Having started disposing of chemical weapons since the end of the last year, by the present time Russia has annihilated 500 tons, out of the 40,000 tons warfare chemical agents it possesses. In accordance with the provisions of the Convention on the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons, Russia has presented the revised plan under which it will completely dispose of its chemical weapons in 2012, but not in 2007, as was planned earlier. All intermediate stages in the new Russian plan coincide with this new timeframe. The session will also consider the request of the United States to prolong till the end of 2007 the term of the disposal of 45% of its chemical weapons, which expires on April 29, 2004; this is connected mainly with the delays in the reception of the permits from the local nature protection bodies and also with the aging of chemical weapons which hampers their disposal. Thus, the request of the USA actually says that it will be able to dispose of all its warfare chemical agents not in 2007, as was provided for by Convention, but later. Unlike Russia, the Americans have not yet presented any revised plan to this effect. Nevertheless, as it was pointed out by the experts of the Organisation on the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons, the work on the disposal of chemical weapons and on the perfection of the technologies in this respect is going on very actively both in Russia and in the United States. The forum participants will also discuss the questions concerning the strengthening of the regime of the non-proliferation of chemical weapons, the activity of the secretariat of the organisation on assisting the member-countries in fulfilling the provisions of the Convention, and the fulfillment by the G-8 countries of the commitments which they have undertaken on assisting Russia in disposing of its chemical weapons. As many as 157 states are members of the Organisation on the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons. The Organisation pursues four main aims: disposal of chemical weapons and means of their production on a global scale; control of the non-proliferation of chemical weapons; ensuring international assistance and defence of the states in case of use or the threat of use chemical weapons against them; international cooperation in the peaceful use of the achievements of chemistry. Return to Menu B. Sub Dismantlement 1. WORKERS ENGAGED IN NUCLEAR SUBMARINES' DISMANTLING WORK FOR FREE On September 29th, the workers of the shipyard in Polyarniy, Murmansk region, handed a written warning to the management saying they could soon suspend work, Ksf.ru reported. 47 workers decided to use their right written in the labour code. The workers tried to attract attention of the management to the bad situation at the plant, which does not pay wages to the workers while they fulfill their work in time. At the same time, � $120 worker's salary hardly exceeds the subsistence minimum determined for Murmansk region. The workers protested in this way before. On April 11th, 2001, 72 workers suspended work and complained about low wages and payment delays. This time the management even did not come out to speak openly to the workers, but convinced them to get back to work at the same day, Ksf.ru reported. Return to Menu 2. BUDGET FUNDS MISUSED WHEN SCRAPPING NUCLEAR SUBS RBC, 17.10.2003, Moscow 17:25:32.The Russian Audit Chamber has revealed some facts about the misappropriation of 117.9m rubles ($3.92m) out of 118.7m rubles ($3.94m) in budget funds allocated for scrapping nuclear-powered submarines, the information and public relations department of the Audit Chamber reported citing a meeting of the Chamber's board today. As a result of the audit of the use of these resources it was found that when a submarine is transferred from the Navy to an enterprise in charge of scrapping it, it lacks up to 15 percent of its ferrous metals and more than 50 percent of its non-ferrous metals. At the same time representatives of the Russian Property Relations Ministry approved acceptance agreements without claims. Return to Menu C. Multilateral Threat Reduction 1. ITALY'S OFFER FOR ELIMINATION OF CHEMICAL WEAPONS WELCOMED IN MOSCOW MOSCOW, October 20 (Itar-Tass) -- Moscow has welcomed Italy's decision to allocate one billion euros for the elimination of Russian chemical weapons, said Gen. Andrei Nikolayev, Chairman of the Duma committee for defence at a meeting with Italian Defence Minister Antonio Martino on Monday. This is a big deal with Italy taking part - to eliminate the weapons that are no longer necessary, Gen. Nikolayev said. During discussions the two sides paid much attention to the creation of regional forces of responsibility. Zones should be specified where Italy should l defend Russia's interests, as well as zones where Russia should do the same for Italy. Creation of zones of mutual responsibility is also possible, Gen. Nikolayev said. The idea was approved by the Italian defence minister who said it was the very direction that the two countries should follow. As far as a second aspect of military cooperation - special task forces, is concerned. Gen. Nikolayev declared that the problem of creating special task forces was being actively discussed. NATO has been creating rapid deployment forces.he noted. These forces have common tasks - to fight terrorism and conduct humanitarian and police operations. I wonder if we should pool our efforts, Gen. Nikolayev suggested. The italian guest agreed, saying it was the most effective investment into the cause of strengthening peace. The Italian defence minister has been on an official visit to Russia since October 18 Return to Menu 2. RF GOVERNMENT AGREED WITH NUKES PHYSICAL PROTECTION FUNDS� ALLOCATIONS The RF Chairman of the Government Mikhail Kasianov signed directive № 619 which states the agreement of the RF Government on allocation of free funds appropriated by the German Government to implement projects associated with physical protection of nuclear materials on the Russian territory in 2003, as the Governmental information department reports. The funds are appropriated in frames of global partnership against proliferation of weapons and materials of mass destruction as agreed at G8 Kananaskis Summit (Canada); according to Russia-Germany agreement on assistance to the Russian Federation in elimination of nuclear and chemical weapons being reduced of 1992; agreement between Minatom of Russia and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Germany on cooperation in safety ensurance of the elimination of nuclear weapons of 1992; and intergovernmental agreement of 1998 on the liability for nuclear damage in connection with supply of the German nuclear facilities to Russia. The directive charges Minatom of Russia and Ministry of Defense of Russia with overseeing the targeted use of the 7.02 million euros. It is planned to spend up to 2.27 million euros of the total amount for nuclear material physical protection projects at PA Mayak, i.e. at the radioactive isotope plant, reactor plant (including Ruslan reactor), liquid radwaste storage complex. Siberian Chemical Combine�s nuclear material physical protection projects are to receive up to 3.5 million euros, namely, the reactor plant № 5; isotope separation plant; liquid radwaste storage facility; vehicle and personnel check-points; security control center. About 1 million euros are planned for the All-Russia Institute of Inorganic Materials n.a. A.A. Bochvar and RRC Kurchatov Institute including �Gas Plant� site. Besides, if an intergovernmental agreement is in place, some 250,000 euros are to be allocated in 2003 for nuclear material physical protection at the Ministry of Defense facilities. Return to Menu D. Strategic Arms Reduction 1. CENTER FOR LIQUIDATING IBM TO BE SET UP IN PERM REGION PERM, October 17, 2003. /RIA Novosti/--The Center for Liquidation of Solid-fuel Intercontinental Ballistic Missiles /IBM/ will still be necessary when Russia has fulfilled its international commitments in the field of nuclear disarmament, announced Vyacheslav Bezborodov, chief of the Defence Industry Department of the Russian Security Council apparatus. Bezborodov and a group of specialists had visited the Center, which is being set up in the Perm region, on October 16. The visit was part of Security Council Secretary Vladimir Rushailo's trip to the region. The Center will be responsible for liquidating ballistic missiles in accordance with Russia's international commitments, with those undertaken under the Agreement on the Reduction of Strategic Offensive Potentials in the first place. It will also be liquidating missiles with an expired operation life. "The Center is a prospective undertaking," Bezborodov stressed. He said that in Russia, the process of ballistic missile development also involved the technology of their further utilization, and stressed the high qualification level of personnel engaged in production and liquidation of IBM. The facility responsible for liquidating solid-fuel IBM will be commissioned at the end of the next year. Return to Menu 2. RUSSIA CONTINUES SCRAPPING RAIL MISSILE COMPLEXES MOSCOW, October 17 (Itar-Tass) -- Russia has completed the liquidation of rail launchers of missile complexes that were slated for scrapping in 2003. The chief of the press service of Russian Strategic Missile Troops, Colonel Alexander Vovk, told Itar-Tass on Friday that the disposal operations took place at the Bryansk repair plant of the troops under the Russian-American Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (START I). Vovk said six launchers of combat rail missile complexes decommissioned from ground-based strategic nuclear forces have been liquidated in Bryansk/ No all components of the complexes have been destroyed in Bryansk, but only mobile rail launchers intended for transportation, storage and launches of three-stage solid-fuel intercontinental ballistic missiles RS-22 B, called SS-24 Scalpel in the NATO classification. Missiles themselves and their separable individually guided warheads (ten on each missile) have been scrapped at other industrial bases. Vovk said technological and ecological safety at the Braynsk and other bases was permanently controlled during the disposal operations. Material and technical double-purpose means from missiles have been sent for further use in the interests of other ministries. Return to Menu E. U.S.-Russia 1. PRESIDENT SPEAKS TO MUSLIM WORLD Speaking to Al-Jazeera in particular and the Arab world in general, President Vladimir Putin on Friday criticized the United States' positions on Chechnya and Iraq and said Russia retains the right to use preemptive strikes if the UN continues to be sidelined in decisions on dealing with a security threat. "With preemptive strikes, we start from the assumption that international law is most important. Any use of force is appropriate only in the case of a decision by the UN Security Council," Putin said in remarks broadcast on the Qatar-based network and picked up by Interfax. If it becomes standard international policy to no longer seek UN legitimacy, "then Russia retains the right to act in the same way." Putin gave the interview from the Malaysian capital of Kuala Lumpur, where he was attending a meeting of the 57-member Organization of the Islamic Conference, before heading to Thailand to participate in an Asian-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit. One day earlier, after Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad opened the forum with a controversial speech in which he said Jews ruled the world, Putin also addressed the assembly. In prepared remarks, which were later posted on the Kremlin web site, he said that Russian history disproves the theory of a clash of civilizations. Russian Muslims are an integral part of a multi-ethnic Russia, he said, "and we see the strength of our country in this inter-religious harmony." According to a report in Kommersant, Putin was interrupted three times with applause. On Sunday, Putin was careful to avoid any criticism of Mahathir, emphasizing again that Russia wants to strengthen its ties with the Muslim world. In this trip, "Putin is reaching out, as they say," said Dmitri Trenin, a Eurasian security specialist at the Carnegie Moscow Center. "He wants to develop relations directly with Muslim nations, so as to distance himself from association with the United States and Israel," with which Russia also has close ties. "He also wants to counter the perception of Russia as an Orthodox country and the chance of Chechnya being seen as a fight between Christianity and Islam." In the course of the Al-Jazeera interview, Putin also called for a bigger role for the United Nations in Iraq, where Russia, France and Germany especially have bristled at the United States' reluctance to hand over power to an elected Iraqi government. The Security Council's most recent resolution, which Russia supported, "is undoubtedly a step in the right direction" because it raises the UN's role in Iraq's reconstruction, but Russia wants to see the United States lessen its grip on the country before it will send troops or financial assistance. Nor did Putin waste the opportunity to take a dig at U.S. policy on Chechnya, saying criticism of the elections in which Akhmad Kadyrov, backed by the Kremlin and running virtually unopposed, was elected president of the republic was hypocritical, given the problems the United States has in coping with insurgent threats to its own hold on Iraq. "I think that ... it's an attempt to distract attention from their own mistakes," he told the television station. Kadyrov was part of the delegation that accompanied Putin on the 15-hour flight to the OIC meeting, as part of the full-court press to convince conference attendees of the sincerity of Russia's outreach. Other prominent Muslims like Bashkortostan President Murtaza Rakhimov, Kabardino-Balkaria President Valery Kokov and Ismail Berdiyev, the mufti for the North Caucasus, were also part of the delegation, according to Kommersant. On first glance, the tone of Putin's remarks could seem ominous, particularly when he was speaking about the use of pre-emptive strikes and Russia's plans to replace decommissioned SS-19 intercontinental ballistic missiles, which he called "probably the most powerful missiles in the world." But in content, none of what he told Al-Jazeera is new, Trenin said. His colleague Andrew Kuchins, an international affairs expert and Carnegie's director, agreed, as did Ivan Safranchuk at the Center for Defense Information. "Putin always knows the audience he's talking to. Here, it's obviously the Islamic world," Kuchins said Friday, noting however that the remarks were "a little edgier" than normal and reminiscent of Cold War-era rhetoric. He attributed this partly to Russia's disgruntlement over the handling of the Iraq war and partly to election-season posturing. "Generally the line is pro-Western, but sometimes it is harder, sometimes it is softer," Safranchuk said. The Al-Jazeera statements were strongly worded, but in an interview earlier this month with The New York Times, Putin was "extremely soft" on the United States' failure to find weapons of mass destruction in Iraq, he observed, tracing this seeming dissonance to Putin's September summit with U.S. President George W. Bush. "They consolidated their gains and gave each other a year off from strict commitments, recognizing they would both need room to criticize the other for the benefit of their re-election campaigns," he said. "They'll disagree, but they won't go as far as to undermine each other internally." "It's [Russia's] default position to behave like a superpower and mirror U.S. policy," Kuchins said. "The thinking is: 'If the U.S. isn't going to follow UN requirements, we're not going to as well, though it's not realistic given Russia's diminution of power." Return to Menu F. Russia-Iran 1. KHATAMI SAYS RUSSIA JUDGING IRAN`S NUKE PLANS ON FAIR BASIS Tehran, Oct 18, IRNA -- President Mohammad Khatami here on Saturday said Russia is trying to adopt a just and fair position toward Iran`s nuclear activities. Khatami, talking to reporters upon arrival from Malaysia, said he had discussed issues of mutual interest with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin on the sidelines of the 10th Summit of the Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC). "Mr. Putin told me that he had stressed in his meetings with US officials that Iran`s nuclear activities are peaceful," Khatami said. Khatami told reporters on Thursday that he had also discussed Iran-Russia cooperation in the area of nuclear activities, particularly the completion of the Bushehr nuclear power plant in his meeting with Putin. He stressed that Iran will not give up its legitimate right to use nuclear energy for civilian application in the face of the anti-Iran propaganda campaign. Khatami said Iran will exercise full cooperation with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) to remove the anticipated ambiguities. Khatami and Putin also reportedly discussed cooperation in the Caspian Sea, above all for the protection and replenishment of biological resources. Return to Menu 2. TEHRAN READY TO COMPLY WITH IAEA REQUIREMENTS? VIENNA, October 17 (RIA Novosti correspondent Borislav Pechnikov) - The International Atomic Energy Agency, IAEA, has received assurances from the Iranian authorities that Tehran will intensify its cooperation with the Agency very soon. The statement was made on Friday by IAEA Director General Mohamad El Baradei and published by the organization's secretariat in Vienna. "The cooperation will imply that Iran without delay will give the IAEA all the necessary information on its nuclear programs and will also make completely clear the remaining problems concerning the Iranian nuclear program," El Baradei said. "The government of Iran has expressed readiness to sign the additional protocol to the nuclear safety agreement signed with the IAEA earlier," he pointed out. On October 18-19 Iran will receive a group of IAEA inspectors that will give the authorities explanations concerning the signing of the protocol, the Agency's director general added. Return to Menu G. Russia-North Korea 1. RUSSIA HOPES FOR RESUMPTION OF MULTILATERAL TALKS ON NORTH KOREA BANGKOK, October 20, 2003. (RIA Novosti) - Presidents of the US and South Korea George Bush and No Mu-hyon have called for the soonest resumption of talks on the North Korean nuclear program. "Both presidents share a view that it is necessary to hold next round of talks as soon as possible to make tangible progress," their joint communique, issued in Bangkok on Monday reads. Russia hopes the multilateral talks will be resumed by the turn of the year, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Losyukov said at a press conference in the Russian press center of the APEC forum. However, North Korea has not clarified whether it is ready to take part in the second round of the talks. "Pyongyang would like to secure all guarantees, and we are working in this regard with the US," the deputy foreign minister said. "On the other hand, the US cannot sign a non-aggression treaty with North Korea, and we understand their stance, because Washington has not signed similar agreements with other countries," Losyukov explained. "We could find different guarantees that would be acceptable for Pyongyang and this is still an issue to negotiate on," the official said. Return to Menu 2. RUSSIAN MINISTER OF DEFENSE CONSIDERS US PRESIDENTS ANNOUNCEMENT ON NORTH KOREA WORTHY OF STUDY Translated by RANSAC Staff MOSCOW, 20 October (INTERFAX) � Russian Minister of Defense Sergei Ivanov considers timely U.S. President George Bush�s announcement of readiness to give North Korea security assurances in exchange for the cancellation of Pyongyang�s nuclear program. �Today�s announcement by the American leadership is timely and worthy of the closest study,� � he announced to journalists in Moscow on Monday. Answering the questions of �INTERFAX-AVN�, Ivanov underlined the �our president more than once spoke of the fact that it is necessary to carefully relate to North Korea�s alarms concerning its national security.� The Russian Minister of Defense did not exclude the possibility that other members of the six-sided negotiations on the issue of North Korea (DPRK and ROK, U.S.A., Russia, China, Japan � �IF-AVN�) may also in their turn take part in the process of granting security guarantees to Pyongyang. �Concerning the other members of the six-sided negotiations, I think that they will also be ready to be included in one or another form on the question of security guarantees for North Korea�, - announced Ivanov. �In our six-sided format this is best handled by diplomats�, - said Ivanov. The minister remarked that, �Russia from the beginning spoke of the fact that nuclear problems and nuclear programs, if they exist in North Korea, should be decided with political-diplomatic methods.� �It goes without saying that Russia was and is for the nuclear free status of the Korean peninsula. Sadly, DPRK withdrew from the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty�, - underlined Ivanov. Return to Menu 3. RUSSIAN PRESIDENT COMES OUT AGAINST TOUGH STATEMENT ON NORTH KOREA TO BE MADE AT APEC SUMMIT BANGKOK, September 20 (RIA Novosti) - Russian president Vladimir Putin and prime minister of Japan Junichiro Koizumi discussed in detail the issues pertaining to the North Korean settlement, said deputy chief of the presidential administration Sergei Prikhodko after the two leaders' meeting in the capital of Thailand was over. "We believe that although the Beijing round of the consultations of the six countries was not completed, the work should be continued, including with the North Korean partners," he said. Prikhodko pointed out that the possibility of adopting a special statement on North Korea by the leaders of the APEC countries at the Thailand summit was not discussed. It is known that Japan has submitted a draft of such statement which contains harsh and tough wordings. The USA and South Korea supported Japan and insist that it should be approved. China and Russia are of the opinion that it is not expedient to adopt such a statement. Return to Menu 4. RUSSIA AGAINST SEPARATE DOCUMENT ON DPRK NUCLEAR PROGRAMME BANGKOK, October 17 (Itar-Tass) -- Moscow regards as undesirable the adoption of a separate document on the nuclear programme of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) at the summit of the countries participating in the forum of Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC), to be held in Bangkok in October 20-21, Alexander Losyukov, the Russian deputy foreign minister, told Tass in an exclusive interview on Friday. Losyukov is on the Russian delegation at a number of functions held in Thailand's capital in the APEC framework. "We believe it is undesirable to make a separate statement at the present sensitive moment", Losyukov said. "It may turn out to be counterproductive, particularly if its wording is not well-balanced", he said. Tass has the information that the United States and Japan insist on adopting in Bangkok a separate document with expressions of concern over the DPRK nuclear programme. They believe stepped up international pressure on Pyongyang will make it more pliant. Some countries. however, specifically China and Russia, are concerned that the tactic of pressure may provoke the DPRK and the process of the six-sided talks on the settlement of the situation regarding Pyongyang's decision to withdraw from the nuclear non-proliferation regime, that started in late August, may be disrupted as a result. Taking part in the talks are the two Korean states, China, Russia, United States and Japan. Thailand, the host of the summit, comes out for the adoption of the single final document. Return to Menu 5. RUSSIA HAS NO NEW INFORMATION ON NORTH KOREAN NUCLEAR WEAPONS BANGKOK, October 17 (Itar-Tass) - Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Losyukov has announced that Russia has no new information about North Korea's possession of nuclear weapons. Mr. Losyukov told ITAR-TASS he did not know "what North Korean officials mean when they declare that they are capable of proving the country's nuclear potentialities. The North Korean foreign ministry reported on Thursday, "Action will be taken at an appropriate time to show physically our nuclear deterrent forces". "To my mind, no demonstration of this kind will facilitate the solution to the issue" Losyukov said. He represented Russia at the first round of the six-party talks on the North Korean nuclear problem in Beijing in August 2003, where the North and South Korea, China, Russia, the United States and Japan took part. Return to Menu H. Russian Nuclear Forces 1. MALFUNCTION - MAIN VERSION OF TU-160 BOMBER CRASH MOSCOW, October 20, 2003. (RIA Novosti) - Malfunction is still believed to have caused the crash of a Tu-160 strategic supersonic bomber in September, Commander-in-Chief of Russia's Air Forces Colonel General Vladimir Mikhailov was quoted by RIA Novosti as saying on Monday. According to him, the commission is studying a multitude of possible causes of the crash, though malfunction remains the main version. Neither flight dispatchers nor the crew made any mistakes, "the commander and the crew acted adequately until the very end," the commander-in-chief pointed out. Mikhailov was sure that "the real cause of malfunction will be discovered, and the hazard will be done away with". It is the first case of this kind over the 17 years of the bomber's operation, and "it is premature to talk about a trend", the official said. Detailed information will be made public "after the commission is through and gives its final version of the crash", Mikhailov remarked. The Tu-160 strategic supersonic bomber of the Russian Air Forces was carrying out a checkout flight, having its power-units replaced, when it crashed in the Saratov region's Sovetsky district on September 18th killing 4. There were no weapons on board. Return to Menu 2. PUITIN CALLS DETERRENCE SS-19 BALLISTIC MISSILE KUALA LUMPUR, OCTOBER 17. /RIA NOVOSTI / -- Vladimir Putin believes that the Russian ballistic missiles SS-19 are not the attack weapon but the nuclear deterrence forces. "It is not new that Russia has such missiles", he said in an interview to the Qatar satellite channel Al-Jazeera. The are among the most formidable missiles available in the world now, said. At the same time, the new element is that "Russia will have this kind of arms not for the next three, four, five years but, anyway, for fifteen, twenty, twenty five years", the Russian president said. "During this time, I'm sure, we will go for the production of new strategic arms systems and, thus, preserve the efficiency of our strategic nuclear deterrence forces", the Russian leader said. "Unfortunately, the modern world still has not abandoned such weapons and Russia has to possess, maintain and develop them", said Putin. Earlier, many experts used to believe that in four to five years to come the missiles would be removed from combat duty by virtue of their natural obsolescence, Putin noted. "At a conference at the Defence Ministry we have recalled that Russia has a considerable amount of these heavy missiles, which have no one day been on combat duty", Putin emphasised. In this sense they are new, have been preserved "unloaded" and, as the missiles on combat duty are expended or outlive their service life, we will replace them by new, heavy missiles". Return to Menu 3. RUSSIAN NAVY LOADS MISSILES WITH DANGEROUS CRANES The old cranes used by the Russian Navy for ballistic missiles loading are a sure path to a "serious catastrophe." This was stated in a September 30th letter by the Russian State Duma Committee for Defence Chairman Andrei Nikolayev, which was addressed to Deputy Defence Minister Alexei Moskovsky, head of the Arms Department of the Ministry of Defence, Grani.ru reported. In 2000, Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Kasyanov had received a parliamentary inquiry on the necessity to allocate more money for construction and repairs of special cranes for the navy. In 1999, Russian Navy Commander Vladimir Kuroyedov had informed the Defence Ministry about the critical condition of the navy�s cranes, which are used for loading strategic weapons. In 1999, only three out of the Russian Navy�s 14 100-tonne cranes, and only 17 out of its 63 40-tonne cranes, were in operation. Loading and unloading ballistic missiles for submarines in the Northern Fleet could not be effectively carried out, Kuroyedov concluded in his letter, Grani.ru reported. The source of the problem lies in 2000, when the ISTRIAN plant in Ukraine, the single producer of naval cranes in the former USSR, had not received payment from Russia for cranes it had delivered earlier. Russia apparently interpreted Ukraine�s plea for payment as a threat to its defence capability and cancelled the contract. A similar crane producer in Russia was not found, and at the Russian Parliament�s intervention, $8.3m was earmarked from the state budget to pay the debt. However, this money did not reach Ukraine, and since 2000, the ISTRIAN plant has constructed 19 more cranes for the Russian Navy on credit, eight of them already sent to Russia. While the military brass cannot solve their internal problems with the money transfer, the old and potentially dangerous cranes keep loading the nuclear submarines with ballistic missiles, the website said. The crane producer denies any responsibility for the old cranes� operation. Specialists, meanwhile, do not rule out the possibility of a nuclear catastrophe, Grani.ru reported. Return to Menu I. Russian Nuclear Industry 1. FOREIGN-FLAGGED INF IMPORTATION DISCUSSED ORGANIZATIONAL ISSUES October 16 the Russian Federation Ministry of Atomic Energy hosted the meeting of special commission for importation of foreign-flagged irradiated nuclear fuel (INF) assemblies to the territory of the Russian Federation. As Nuclear.Ru was informed by Minatom�s of Russia press-service, the meeting participants headed by Minister Alexander Rumyantsev discussed organizational issues and elected its deputy chair - vice-president of the Russian Academy of Sciences (RAS) Nikolai Laverov � and secretary - Alexander Vatulin (VNIINM Director General). Mikhail Solonin, the Deputy Minister of Atomic Energy, made a presentation. The Commission members discussed regulatory and technical aspects of the irradiated fuel importation issue as well as the proceedings related to compilation of the annual report to the President of the Russian Federation and the Parliament. The Special Commission for irradiated fuel importation headed by Zhores Alferov (vice-president of the RAS) was set up by the Presidential Decree #828 of July 10, 2001. The Commission includes officials from the RF Presidential Administration, Federal Council and Government, five members from each institution. The Commission�s statute and membership were approved by the Presidential Decree #858 of July 31, 2003. Return to Menu 2. RUSSIA-SOUTH KOREA NUCLEAR POWER COMMITTEE MET IN MOSCOW October 20-22, 2003 Moscow is to hold the 8-th meeting of the Russia-South Korea Joint Coordinating Committee on Nuclear Power. The Russian delegation is headed by State Secretary � Deputy Minister of Atomic Energy Valeri Govorukhin, and the South Korean delegation � by Chun Won Choo, the Director General of the Science and Technology Bureau of the Republic of Korea. As Nuclear.Ru was informed by Minatom�s press-service the meeting is to discuss a number of issues of the Russia-South Korea nuclear power cooperation. The Korean delegation also plans to visit RRC Kurchatov Institute, Exhibition and Marketing Center of Minatom of Russia, VNIIAES and Rosenergoatom�s Crisis Center. The Agreement between the Government of the Republic of Korea and the Government of the Russian Federation Concerning the Cooperation in the Field of Peaceful Uses of Atomic Energy of May 28, 1999 is the legal basis for the Russia-South Korea cooperation. The agreement was concluded for 10 years with automatic extension for subsequent five-year periods. It envisages the cooperation in the following areas: fundamental and applied research and development in the field of atomic energy; design, construction, operation, maintenance and life extension of nuclear power and research reactors; survey and exploration of uranium deposits; development and industrial-scale fabrication of nuclear fuel components and materials; nuclear safety, radiation safety and environmental protection; advanced nuclear fuel technologies; radioactive waste management. Return to Menu 3. WANO ANNOUNCED RECIPIENTS OF ITS NUCLEAR EXCELLENCE AWARDS The World Association of Nuclear Operators (WANO) announced its nuclear power excellence awardees presented during the General Assembly Berlin meeting held October 13-14, 2003, Platts reported. The awards established this year would be given once in two years. The first awardees were Rebba Bhiksham (Nuclear Power Corp. of India Ltd.), Won-Young Chung (Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power Co., Republic of Korea), Pedro Figueiredo (Eletrobras Termonuclear S.A., Brasil), Bernard Fourest (Electricite de France, France), Oliver Kingsley (Exelon Corp., USA) and Paul Spekkens (Ontario Power Generation, Canada). The WANO�s statement says the award is given for �extraordinary contributions to excellence in the operation of nuclear power plants or the infrastructure that supports the nuclear power enterprise�. The award was created to honor Zack Pate, WANO�s chair emeritus. The Berlin GA meeting was attended by 360 representatives of the world�s largest power utilities from 33 countries. The GA unanimously elected Rosenergoatom�s Director General Oleg Saraev the new WANO President. As President he invited the Association members and heads of the utilities to the next GA meeting, which is to be organized by the WANO Moscow�s Office and held in Hungary in 2005. The WANO Moscow�s Office incorporates 36 members of 13 countries: Armenia, Bulgaria, Hungary, Iran, Kazakhstan, Cuba, Lithuania, Poland, Russia, Slovak Republic, Finland and Czech Republic. Such arrangement is conditioned by the fact that these countries operate or construct nuclear power units built to the soviet (Russian) designs. In total the nine countries operate 69 units at 23 nuclear power plants with summed installed capacity of 49530.5 MW. Six more nuclear power units are under construction: Kalinin-3, Kursk-5, Rovno-4, Khmelnitsk-2, Volgodonsk-2 and Bushehr-1. Return to Menu 4. RUSSIA TO EXPORT URANIUM TO EUROPE? MOSCOW, October 17, 2003 (RIA Novosti correspondent Alevtina Schepetina) -- The EU will start negotiations with Russia on the export of uranium at the beginning of the next year. This was disclosed at a press-conference in Moscow by European Commission (supreme executive body of the EU) Director-General for Energy and Transportation Francois Lamoureux. "With the beginning of the next year we will start negotiations with the Russian authorities on the export of uranium to the EU countries. On our part, we will be negotiating prices and deliveries with Euroatom," he said. The current Russia-EU energy dialogue enabled the European Commission to persuade EU members to give a mandate for negotiations on export of Russian uranium to the EU, Francois Lamoureux said. Return to Menu 5. RUSSIA REACHES AVERAGE WORLD POWER PRODUCTION AT NUCLEAR PLANTS Moscow. (Interfax) - Russia has reached the average world level of power produced at nuclear power plants in the overall amount of power production, Rosenergoatom, the Russian nuclear power agency, reported on Tuesday. Russian production of power at nuclear plants has been about 16.3% of the overall power production in the country since the start of 2003, Rosenergoatom said. Nuclear power plants produced 107.8 billion kWt/h of electricity, against 661.0 billion kWt/h of all electricity produced in the country from January-September, according to the Russian Energy Ministry. In the European part of Russia, the share of nuclear energy produced was over 21.5% of the entire power production. In 2001, the share of power produced at nuclear plants was 15.4% of the entire amount of power produced in Russia. Return to Menu J. Official Statements 1. INTERVIEW GRANTED BY PRESIDENT VLADIMIR PUTIN FOR STAR-TV TELEVISION, OCTOBER 19, 2003 (excerpted) [�] QUESTION: A question on proliferation of nuclear weapons: North Korea has backed out of the Nuclear Weapons Non-Proliferation Treaty, we know that India and Pakistan have nuclear weapons, and there are suspicions that Iran does too. In this situation, has the time not come for Russia to become the leader, the initiator in developing a new document, a new treaty that establishes the non-proliferation regime? VLADIMIR PUTIN: The topic you propose to discuss is in my view one of the most important topics of the 21st century. Of course, we are also concerned by the situation connected with the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, above all nuclear weapons. We will help to consolidate the non-proliferation regime in any way we can. And, indeed, we are also concerned about the tension between India and Pakistan. Incidentally, after these countries got nuclear weapons the relations between them did not improve. This once again confirms that proliferation of nuclear weapons does not resolve problems in international relations, but only makes them more complicated and more dangerous. Given this situation, we are in favour of a nuclear-free Korean Peninsula, and let us also not forget that Israel, too, has not yet joined the treaty. We are in constant contact with our partners on this issue, and I think that the idea you just mentioned, the idea that we should act together to strengthen the non-proliferation regime, is absolutely correct. But the question is how to go about this. Do we propose additional documents for signature, or do we build on what the international community has already come up with in this respect? This is a practical question, and one for the specialists to work on. The main thing, in my opinion, is that we need to have a common position on all the problems in this area. There cannot be different interpretations. There must be a common approach and common understanding of what is happening in this area. We all have to speak the same language. I think this could certainly be discussed in various international forums, including the G8. You mentioned Iran. That is a very important subject. We think that we really do need to proceed very carefully here and not push the Iranian leadership into going to extremes. But at the same time, we have to have a clear understanding that this common approach will apply to everyone who works with Iran, including in the sensitive area of nuclear energy. We are willing to tighten controls within the country in this area, but we expect that our partners will take the same measures with regard to their own firms. We know that sanctions have been imposed on Russian companies, but we have never heard of sanctions being imposed on European or American companies that work with Iran. But there are also certain questions regarding the quality and nature of what they are delivering to this country in the nuclear energy sector. We support strengthening the non-proliferation regime, but we are against having this issue used as a pretext for unfair and dishonest competition. QUESTION: Mr President, on the eve of your last visit to India, you spoke of your concern that nuclear weapons could fall into the hands of terrorists, including through Pakistan. Do you still have such concerns today? And a second question: when you meet with President Musharraf, do you plan to raise the question of Pakistan�s commitments to fighting terrorism and ensuring security in South Asia? VLADIMIR PUTIN: I must say that if I meet with President Musharraf, and I think such a meeting is planned, apart from the questions you mentioned, we will also have many other questions of bilateral interest to discuss. We were concerned and still are concerned by terrorism, and all the more so by the prospect of terrorists getting their hands on weapons of mass destruction. This is without doubt a very sensitive and even painful issue for the entire international community. These are not just empty words. I already mentioned the very complicated situation in the south of Afghanistan, on the border with Pakistan, as it happens. We know how the situation develops historically there, and we know that these territories are not really under anyone�s control. We hope the Pakistani leadership will all do within its power to ensure that no information on weapons of mass destruction that terrorists could use in any way falls into their hands. The same goes for rebels and terrorists infiltrating the conflict zone in Jammu and Kashmir. We expect that the Pakistani leadership will not allow rebel bases to function on its territory and will do all it can to control the situation I referred to before. At the same time, I would like to say that we welcome India�s initiative to restore full diplomatic relations and rebuild trust between India and Pakistan after the tragic events � the terrorist acts � that India was hit with, and that we regret. [�] Return to Menu 2. NIKOLAI TRUTSUK, DEPUTY OFFICIAL SPOKESMAN OF RUSSIA'S MINISTRY OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS, ANSWERS A RUSSIAN MEDIA QUESTION REGARDING THE STATEMENT OF THE SPOKESMAN FOR THE MINISTRY OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS OF THE DPRK PUBLISHED ON OCTOBER 17, 2003 2347-17-10-2003 QUESTION: Please comment on the statement of the spokesman for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the DPRK published on October 17, 2003. ANSWER: The position of Russia on the "North Korean nuclear problem" is well known: we are for the nonproliferation of nuclear weapons, the ensuring of a nuclear-free status for the Korean Peninsula, the provision of security guarantees to all the states located here, including the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, and the solution of all the questions solely by peaceful means, through negotiation. We are for continued six-way talks, the first round of which took place in Beijing this August and for the finding in their course of mutually acceptable solutions on the basis of the aforementioned principles. We expect all the concerned parties and, in particular, the DPRK and the United States to meet each other half-way and avoid any statements or actions which would complicate efforts to reach a negotiated solution to the problem. Russia is maintaining active diplomatic contacts with all the concerned parties for these purposes. Return to Menu 3. RUSSIAN PRESIDENT VLADIMIR PUTIN'S INTERVIEW WITH AL-JAZEERA, KUALA LUMPUR, OCTOBER 16, 2003 (excerpted) [�] QUESTION: Mr. President, on Iran. Many people say that you are surrendering Iran, despite the fact that you have large contracts, that you will go with the United States in regard to pressure on Khatami, on Iran, over nuclear actions. PRESIDENT PUTIN: I met President Khatami today, we had a fairly long talk. I think it would be correct if such a respected company as Al-Jazeera approached him and asked: "Do you feel any pressure from Russia or not?"; he will tell you himself. As regards our position, of course, I can answer you in this regard. The position is as follows. We consider, I personally consider, that the problem of a possible spread of weapons of mass destruction in the 21st century is a key one. This is one of the main problems of our time. We are parties to the nonproliferation treaty and strictly adhere to all the rules of this treaty. Iran also signed this treaty. And we presume that Iran has no intention to have nuclear weapons. The President of Iran had told me repeatedly about this and today he once again reiterated it. If this is so, then we see no difficulties, no obstacles to Iran's signing an additional IAEA protocol, nor do we perceive any difficulties in the disclosure of all the nuclear programs of that country. If there is no aim to develop and produce nuclear weapons, then why not disclose all this? What's the problem? That needs to be done - this is the first point. Secondly, in order to relieve the concerns of all those who have them about a possible existence in Iran of nuclear combat programs. We have suggested to our Iranian partners that we sign an appropriate document by which Russian fuel spent at the nuclear power plants would subsequently be returned to Russia so no one has any doubts that it can't be irradiated and that combat nuclear material can't be obtained from it. I so understand that our partners, and the Iranian too, have no problems on this question; they are ready to do so. If this is all so, if it all proceeds thus, I see no grounds to limit Iran in obtaining the latest, state-of-the-art technologies for use, including nuclear power for peaceful purposes. Iran is not a state which is for some reason affected in rights, we see no grounds for that. And if all this, I repeat, is done, if the IAEA joins fully in the work to verify the relevant programs of Iran, we will continue to cooperate with Iran, including in this sensitive sphere under the control of the IAEA. As to the positions of certain of our partners, I understand their concern. We ourselves, I repeat it once again, are against any spread of nuclear weapons, against any, and will help in every way to ensure that the Treaty on the Nonproliferation of Nuclear Weapons is abided by all, we will do everything to this end. But the approach should be the same towards all. It should not be selective. There can be no provision by which some countries or representatives of some countries, the firms of some countries may cooperate with Iran and some countries may not. Restrictions and sanctions are being imposed on Russian firms every now and then. But for some reason I have never heard of those sanctions being imposed either on West European or on American firms. And we do have the information showing that these firms are cooperating with Iran, including in the nuclear field and this information is known to our partners in Western Europe and in the United States. I would suggest that we should work out uniform approaches, raise the degree of trust in each other and cease playing the fool, cease using the topic of proliferation in order to introduce unfair competition in the practice of economic life. QUESTION: Mr. President, what about relations between Russia and the United States? I at almost all the summits witnessed you constantly repeating "we have a strategic relationship, a striving towards this." I heard the promise on the part of Mr. Bush regarding the Jackson-Vanik amendment, with regard to helping Russia with accession to WTO, concerning Chechnya and so on. Now something is not understandable here. On one hand, you are talking about strategic cooperation, and on the other - the Americans are keeping no promises. Your opinion? PRESIDENT PUTIN: You know, the activity of concrete persons on a concrete issue cannot discredit the idea. And the idea is correct, because I really consider that a strategic partnership is possible between Russia and the United States. I will explain why. There are questions, on which the interests, the long-term and rational interests of Russia and the United States coincide. You just now touched on the first of these interests, and we discussed it - this is the problem of the nonproliferation of nuclear and other weapons of mass destruction in the 21st century. It is a problem that should be of concern to each state and to each person living today on the planet. This is a very serious question. Both Russia and the United States are major nuclear powers. Despite the difference in economic potential, today the nuclear capabilities of Russia are comparable with those of the United States. But there is more to it. This concerns also the amassed experience, the technologies, the production facilities, the technological chains and personnel. Russia is a great nuclear power. This no one questions or doubts. And both the United States and Russia, of course, have a joint interest - to safeguard the security of all mankind - this is the first point. Secondly, based on our being a major nuclear power, we must take care of the preservation of the so called strategic stability; that is we must correctly build policies between ourselves in the field of nuclear arms. This is also a very important element which is not noticed only when it is built in the proper way. As soon as problems start, all mankind will be shaking from morning till night and thinking all the while what might happen tomorrow, as was already the case more than once in the recent history of mankind, it's enough to recall the Caribbean crisis. [�] QUESTION: Mr. President, on nuclear weapons. Your recent statement regarding the SS-19 missile. Following you the Defense Minister says that Russia has a right and will use preventive strikes against the countries from which a threat may emanate for the security of Russia. Many said that Putin's tone was after the failure of the talks with Bush at Camp David; this is one point. A second point is, what countries can threaten the Russian Federation? PRESIDENT PUTIN: As regards our missiles, SS-19 heavy missiles, there has never been any secret that Russia has those missiles. They are probably the most powerful missiles in the world now. They are called heavy because they can orbit a large cargo, and this means that they can be fitted with multiple warheads. They are missiles that will easily penetrate any antimissile defense systems in the coming decade. There is no novelty in Russia having these missiles. But there is novelty about what we said. It consists of the following. Many experts had thought that in the next five or six years these missiles would be removed from operational duty on account of their aging, natural aging. We in the course of the meeting at the Defense Ministry recalled that Russia has a considerable number of these heavy missiles which have not yet been a single day on operational duty. In this sense they are new, they have been preserved in dry form and as the missiles already on operational duty are scrapped or expire we shall put on operational duty just these new missiles, heavy missiles. This means that Russia will possess this type of weapon not the next three, four or five years, but, in any case, fifteen, twenty, twenty-five years, taking into account the possibility of extending their useful life. Over this time, I am certain, we will arrive at the production of new strategic weapon systems and thus ensure the effectiveness of our strategic nuclear deterrence forces. For us they are not attack weapons, they are nuclear deterrence forces. Regrettably, in the present-day world such weapons still have not been abandoned, so Russia is also forced to have, maintain and develop them. As to preventive strikes, we proceed from the priority of international law in the first place. Any use of force may take place only in the case of a decision of the UN Security Council. But you are right, the Defense Minister indeed talked about the possibility of preventive strikes. What he meant, and this is also my opinion - we are against such policies. But if such behavior continues to be affirmed in the practice of international life as a priority, then Russia reserves the right to act in a similar manner. QUESTION: Mr. President! You did not mention the countries which can threaten the security of Russia. PRESIDENT PUTIN: You know this does not interest us very much. What interests us is a theoretical possibility, and whoever may threaten must know that the response will be adequate. [�] Return to Menu 4. REPLIES TO QUESTIONS FROM PARTICIPANTS AT THE APEC BUSINESS SUMMIT (excerpted) [�] QUESTION: Mr President, would you say that from Russia�s point of view, the situation on the Korean Peninsula is stable? VLADIMIR PUTIN: I don�t think I would be being very original if I said that the overwhelming majority of countries, or better still, all countries, have an interest in ensuring that the weapons of mass destruction non-proliferation regime is not violated. We categorically oppose any steps that would lead to a violation of this regime. We are in favour of a nuclear-free Korean Peninsula and do all we can to keep the Korean Peninsula nuclear-free for as long as possible. But at the same time, it is my firm conviction that we can regulate this situation only if we take into consideration the interests of all sides involved, and this includes the security interests of the Democratic People�s Republic of Korea. We will make every effort to convince our partners, including our partners in the group of six, to be careful in their actions and not jeopardise the negotiation process that has begun, but rather, strengthen it. I think that if we let these principles guide us, we will be able to achieve positive results. [�] Return to Menu K. Links 1. K-159 DOOMED BY EXPECTATIONS OF WESTERN FUNDING Return to Menu 2. EC�S �NUCLEAR PACKAGE� TO HARMONISE ATOMIC ENERGY IN EXPANDED EU�BUT ENVIRONMENTALISTS CRY FOUL Return to Menu 3. TOWARDS A SAFER WORLD Return to Menu 4. MULTILATERAL ARMS CONTROL: TIME TO OPT FOR EFFECTIVENESS Stephen G. Rademaker, Assistant Secretary of State for Arms Control; Statement to the First Committee of the 58th Session of the UN General Assembly: New York City 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. 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