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RANSAC Nuclear News, October 27, 2003 Compiled By: Matthew Bouldin A. Nuclear Cities
 A. Nuclear Cities 1. SCIENTIST FROM SECRET NUCLEAR FACILITY GOES MISSING IN RUSSIAN SIBERIA A secret facility worker is missing in Krasnoyarsk. The scientist occupied a high managerial post at the mining and chemical combine [plutonium-producing facility] in the closed town of Zheleznogorsk. He has worked at the enterprise for more than 20 years and had access to classified information. The Krasnoyarsk Territory directorate of the Federal Security Service is searching for him. Law enforcement agencies are not commenting on the situation. As we know, the scientist disappeared last Friday [17 October] on the way from Zheleznogorsk to Krasnoyarsk, having about 9,000 dollars on him. Return to Menu B. Sub Dismantlement 1. Russia allocated $4.2m to raise K-159 Russia increased its defence budget for the current year allocating $4.2m to raise the nuclear submarine K-159. However, Dutch Mamout alone received $64m for raising Kursk nuclear submarine, which rested 100m deep, while the rusty K-159 is buried at 240m depth. Additional resources have to be found for the next year salvage operation. Earlier Russian Navy Commander Kuroyedov promised to raise the submarine by Autumn 2004. The salvage operation is preliminary scheduled for August-September 2004. The Russian Shipbuilding Ministry, the Nuclear Ministry, and the Ministry of Defence signed am agreement about planning operation on K-159 raising. The Malakhit design bureau was assigned responsible. The project of the salvage operation should be approved in the first quarter of 2004, Kuroyedov said at a press conference in Moscow. Recently he signed a decree about launching expedition to the place of K-159 catastrophe. Return to Menu 2. CIVIL CREW TO DELIVER NUCLEAR SUBMARINE FOR DISMANTLING First time in the history of submarine decommissioning the civil crew will take care of the retired submarine�s delivery for dismantling, ITAR-TASS reported. 17 employees from Zvezdochka shipyard arrived at the navy base Vidyaevo on the Kola Peninsula to inspect thoroughly and transport the a Victor-III nuclear submarine for dismantling to Zvezdochka shipyard in Severodvinsk, Arkhangelsk region. All the civil crewmembers are former submariners. It is not clear who will finance dismantling of this submarine, the Russian Defence Ministry or Global Partnership program. Norway has already allocated money for dismantling of multipurpose nuclear submarine in Severodvinsk, Great Britain covers cutting of two more similar submarines. Return to Menu C. Multilateral Threat Reduction 1. US TO ALLOCATE RUSSIA $5.5 MILLION TO DISPOSE NUCLEAR SUBMARINES [sic] Great Britain is going to allocate $5.5 million to Russia to help it keep afloat the nuclear-powered submarines that are subject to disposal. Lieutenant-General Alevtin Yunak, in charge of environmental security of the Russian Armed Forces, said this as meeting reporters on Tuesday. "By the middle of next year, we plan to implement two joint projects, involving Britain, to keep afloat 103 multi-purpose nuclear submarines, which have been decommissioned and are subject to disposal," said the general. He said the money would go to build special pontoons for transporting the decommissioned subs and to employ a special technology of pumping polystyrene into the submarines' main ballast tanks and of removing it afterwards for disposal. The chief military environment expert touched on the problem of environmental terrorism. "The institute of the development of safe nuclear energy of the Russian academy of sciences says there is a possibility that terrorists will use spent nuclear fuel from submarines or liquid and solid radioactive wastes in places where decommissioned nuclear submarines are stationed," the general said, assuring that this would not be allowed to happen. According to Lieutenant-General Yunak the pieces of the Kursk submarine still lying on the Barents Sea bottom pose no threat whatsoever. The K-159 sub that sank in August 2003 is not dangerous either, said the military. Radiation has not exceeded the norm in the wreckage area since the day of the tragedy. Environment monitoring is conducted in the area daily, he said. Return to Menu 2. First stage of reconstruction completed at Andreeva bay nuclear facility The first stage of the nuclear facility�s reconstruction at Andreeva bay was completed in the middle of October 2003. This year, the Norwegian government allocated 28 million Norwegian crowns ($4 million) for the works at Andreeva bay and the Nerpa shipyard, engaged in nuclear submarines� dismantling. The shipyard received $5 million to dismantle a multipurpose nuclear submarine of Victor-II class. 15 million crowns were spent on road construction to the Andreeva bay facility and more than 5 million crowns were used for physical protection of the facility. The rest of the money was spent on the sluice reconstruction. The Russian Ministry of atomic energy scheduled two projects for the next year at Andreeva bay: change house for the employees and local geotechnical exploration. Norway promised to examine the projects and give an answer regarding their financing. Return to Menu 3. FRAMATOMЕ ANР VISITED KURSK NPP REGARDING LRW PROCESSING FACILITY The team of France-Germany Framatomе ANР experts and specialists from the Russian design institute SverdNIIkhimmash visited Kursk nuclear power plant (NPP) under the contract to build a facility to process liquid radioactive waste (LRW), as Nuclear.Ru was informed by Rosenergoatom press-center. Framatomе ANР, which has a vast experience in developing and producing LRW processing equipment, has been involved by Rosenergoatom to design sections for dilution and retrieval of waste from existing storages at Kursk NPP and its delivery to the would-be facility. The facility will process LRW by ion-selection and cementing methods, which are the most effective technologies of today which improve reliability and safety of LRW processing during a lengthy period of time. The facility construction is to be completed in 2005. Before it starts relevant federal regulators must carry out the necessary expert reviews and a construction permit must be obtained from Gosatomnadzor of Russia. Kursk NPP continuously monitors the existing LRW storages by doing dosimetry measurements and leak inspections of storage tanks. There have been no leaks recorded for the whole time of the LRW temporary storage tanks operation. Kursk NPP experts familiarized their foreign partners with the actual state of the storages and supporting buildings. The discussed a base-line project developed by Framatomе ANP and how the would-be facility would fit in the existing buildings. The final decision was made as regards locations of bays for equipment assembling and installing considering the current Kursk power units layout on the site. The sides signed a protocol to reflect mutual commitments to continue the project. According to Framatome ANP official Karsten Werner Leschke, the company and Kursk NPP have built �strong business relations�. He also appreciated highly the commitment of Kursk nuclear community to safety of LRW storage and reprocessing and to on-schedule completion of the planned activities. Return to Menu 4. GERMANY ALLOTS RUSSIA 1.5 BILLION EUROS FOR DESTRUCTION OF CHEMICAL WEAPONS � GERMAN AMBASSADOR IN MOSOW Translated by RANSAC Staff MOSCOW. 27 October. (Interfax-AVN) � German Ambassador in Moscow Hans Fredriech von Pletz announced that his country will allot 1.5 billion euros for assisting Russia in destroying her chemical weapons. �In total terms in the next 10 years we will spend 1.5 billion euros in order to help Russia cope with these problems�, - said H.F. von Pletz in an interview in �Novaya Gazeta� published on Monday. The diplomat reminded that in the Russian population center of Gorny there already is working a facility for destroying chemical weapons, �built with the money of the German taxpayers�. Moreover, said the Ambassador, in the course of the next few years Germany will spend 300 million euros on solving the problem of secure guarding of Russian waste fuel from nuclear submarines. Return to Menu 5. MNEPR ENTRY INTO FORCE APPEARS CLOSE WASHINGTON � The Framework Agreement on a Multilateral Nuclear Environmental Program in the Russian Federation (MNEPR) appears to have been submitted to the Russian Duma as it hurries through its legislative agenda ahead of December elections, meaning the agreement could enter into force within months, the lead international official for the program said today (see GSN, Oct. 17). Patrick Reyners, head of legal affairs at the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development�s Nuclear Energy Agency, said in a telephone interview from Paris that he �understood� at a meeting last week of MNEPR parties that the agreement was in the hands of the Duma. He added, though, that the legal processes of ratification in Russia are not entirely clear and that the Duma may not technically have received the agreement yet. In any case, Reyners said, �The information we received from the Russian side is encouraging.� �It�s safe to say they�re going to be submitted [to the Duma] in the near term,� U.S. State Department negotiator Jeff Miller said of the framework agreement and related documents. MNEPR, under which the United States and European countries are to help secure dangerous nuclear materials in northwestern Russia, would enter into force if Russia deposited its instrument of ratification with the OECD. Sweden and Norway have already ratified the agreement, which was signed in May in Stockholm, and Reyners said �several other countries are very advanced in their ratification processes.� Entry into force requires ratification by Russia and any other signatory. Last week�s one-day meeting in Moscow was the first meeting of parties since the agreement was signed in May. Reyners and Miller said the parties mainly established principles and procedures for the panel�s future work, as well as conducting an initial review of the first projects under the program. Miller said Germany announced it is committing more than $350 million to dismantle nuclear submarines, something Norway is already doing in a separate MNEPR project. A main subject of discussion for the group, according to Miller and Reyners, was a �side letter� from Russia to the other countries on tax exemption for parties as they implement MNEPR projects in Russia. Miller said progress was made on the matter and that the group is close to agreement on how to handle the exemption. On another matter, a U.S.-Russian dispute over liability protections in threat reduction agreements such as MNEPR, there was no action, Reyners and Miller said. The United States, seeking to protect its officials and contractors from legal liability in case of damages and injuries resulting from threat reduction activities in Russia, has been pushing for the acceptance of liability language such as that found in the 1992 Cooperative Threat Reduction umbrella agreement as a standard for all such agreements. The umbrella agreement, unlike some related texts, lacks language to exempt Russia from liability in case of a premeditated attack. The dispute has led to the termination of two U.S.-Russian accords in recent months and caused liability provisions for MNEPR to be drawn up in a separate protocol to the main agreement, which was signed by all parties but the United States and contains language favored by Russia. Some observers have said Russian ratification of MNEPR could signal a hard Russian line on the question and even presage a renegotiation of the umbrella agreement, which Russia has never ratified. At last week�s meeting, said Miller, the United States presented �our normal statement that we give, which is once we get a liability arrangement in place, then we will be able to move forward in implementing projects.� �There is a dialogue,� he said, �and � the Russian Federation made reference to our dialogue during the meeting.� �Nothing happened. There is nothing to say,� said Reyners of the liability question. The next MNEPR meeting is expected around May. Return to Menu D. Nuclear Smuggling 1. LATVIA'S SECRET SERVICE SEIZES RADIOACTIVE SUBSTANCES RIGA (AFP) Oct 23, 2003 Latvia's secret service has seized radioactive substances, averting a possible threat to state security, a spokesman for the Constitution Protection Office said on Thursday. Spokesman Dainis Mikelsons said several people had been detained in connection with the find. "The control of radioactive substances is important in the light of the fight against international terrorism. Seizing them means averting threats to security of the state," he told AFP. He said the radioactive material had been transferred to a radiation safety centre for identification but declined to disclose further details, saying he did not wish to undermine the ongoing investigation. Mikelsons said the seizure was made possible by cooperation between the security police and a National Armed Forces special task force. The press officer for Latvia's National Armed Forces, Uldis Davidovs, also declined to give details of the operation. Return to Menu E. Counterproliferation 1. IT'S FULL STEAM AHEAD IN HUNT FOR TERROR ARMS SHIPMENTS SPEAKING to the Australian Parliament in Canberra on Thursday, United States President George W. Bush served notice that the US is intent on expanding a coalition of countries alarmed at the potentially catastrophic consequences should weapons of mass destruction spread, and willing to act to prevent it from happening. Working together on the Proliferation Security Initiative (PSI), the 11 participating nations led by the US aim to prevent states, like North Korea, which have ambitions to develop an arsenal of nuclear weapons from doing so, and possibly selling such weapons, or the means or the know-how to build them, to terrorists. 'We're preparing to search planes and ships and trains and trucks carrying suspected cargo, to seize weapons or missile shipments that raise proliferation concerns,' Mr Bush said. 'The wrong weapons, the wrong technology, in the wrong hands has never been so great a danger.' Surprisingly little media and public attention has been focused on the PSI since it was announced by Mr Bush in May. Yet the strategy of preemptive interdiction already has the active support of some of the world's most powerful nations. In addition to the US, they include eight European nations: Britain, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Poland, Portugal and Spain. France and Germany are working with the US on the PSI notwithstanding their differences with America over Iraq. Since the PSI group first met in Madrid in June, members have agreed to review relevant laws and improve intelligence exchanges on suspected international transfers of nuclear, chemical and biological weapons. They have also agreed to hold a series of sea, air and land interception training exercises in the months ahead in Europe, the Middle East and Asia. The first was held in the Coral Sea off the north-east coast of Australia last month. ASIAN ROLE CRUCIAL HOWEVER, only two Asia-Pacific nations, Japan and Australia, have so far joined the PSI. The US and its partners in the group believe that if the PSI is to be effective, especially in relation to North Korea, it must be enlarged to include more Asian states. More Asian countries, especially those with capable naval and maritime air patrol forces in key positions near busy international shipping straits and sea lanes, are being asked to join by the US. They include Singapore and India. Singapore is likely to be supportive, either by becoming a member of the PSI or agreeing to respond to requests for assistance on a case-by-case basis. Singapore was, after all, the first Asian country to join the US-sponsored Container Security Initiative, which is intended to prevent terrorists from using cargo containers to launch new attacks on America, possibly with a weapon of mass destruction. Indeed, PSI participation by Singapore would fit neatly into the Framework Agreement For The Promotion Of A Strategic Cooperation Partnership In Defence And Security that Mr Bush and Singapore's Prime Minister Goh Chok Tong agreed to negotiate during the US President's visit to Singapore on Tuesday. In a joint statement, it was said that both leaders 'expressed concern over the emergence of new threats to global peace and stability, such as terrorism and proliferation of weapons of mass destruction and agreed that such threats required even closer cooperation between Singapore and the US'. The strategic framework agreement would expand on the scope of current US-Singapore bilateral cooperation in defence and security, 'such as counter-terrorism, counter-proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, joint military exercises and training, policy dialogues, and defence technology'. PSI members want to increase the number of countries joining or working with them to deter or intercept not just weapons of mass destruction and missile shipments by sea, but any by land or air too. DIFFICULT POSITION OF COURSE, this is difficult. Many of the suspect items also have civilian uses. And some, such as the plutonium core of a nuclear weapon, may not be much bigger than a football. China, Russia and South Korea - as immediate neighbours sharing land borders with North Korea - are important in this context. For example, North Korea has exported ballistic missiles and related technology to Iran and Pakistan by air and sea. The key air routes for Pyongyang - between North Korea and Iran and between North Korea and Pakistan - pass through Chinese airspace. North Korea exports arms, drugs and counterfeit money to pay for its nuclear and missile development programme, prop up the embattled regime of Kim Jong Il and prevent the North Korean economy from complete collapse. China opposes moves by North Korea to become a nuclear power but fears that working with the PSI countries to halt any North Korean nuclear shipments could scuttle the six-party talks involving the US, North and South Korea, China, Russia and Japan that Beijing is hosting in an attempt to defuse the Korean crisis. If China, Russia and South Korea were to join or cooperate openly with PSI members, it would range five of the six parties in the talks against North Korea. Pyongyang sees the PSI as an alliance to enforce a blockade to bring North Korea to its knees and angrily denounced the exercise last month that involved the US, Japan, France and Australia working together to board, search and seize a ship carrying a dummy load of chemical weapon precursors. North Korea called the operation a 'military provocation' that could spark war. Still, Beijing's confirmation on Sept 15 that its military had taken over from the police in guarding the 1,400km border with North Korea may well be a ratcheting up of Chinese pressure on Pyongyang, short of working with the PSI. South Korea and Russia, too, will likely refrain from open cooperation with the PSI, at least until they are convinced that North Korea will not dismantle its nuclear weapons programme. The PSI is intended as a back-up measure should talks fail to bring about North Korea's complete and verifiable nuclear disarmament. FLAGS OF CONVENIENCE IN ADDITION to enlarging the circle of cooperating countries, PSI members will also seek support from nations that run open shipping registers offering so-called 'flags of convenience' to foreign vessels, including some thought to be owned or used by terrorists. Flags of convenience generally provide greater anonymity as well as tax benefits and lower costs than traditional registers operated by PSI members and other countries like Singapore to control their national shipping fleets and give them protection while on the high seas. Over half the world's commercial shipping by tonnage flies the flags of convenience that are sold by several dozen - mostly developing - nations to make money. Flag of convenience states range from major shipping players like Panama, Liberia and the Bahamas, to small ones like Bolivia, Equatorial Guinea, tiny Tuvalu in the South Pacific and even landlocked Mongolia. The main weakness of the PSI noose is its limited authority under international law. The US and its partners are working to rectify this so that they can interdict shipments of weapons of mass destruction to or from states with nuclear ambitions, or between rogue states and terrorist groups, where such shipments are taking place beyond the sea, air and land jurisdiction of the PSI countries. For example, at the International Maritime Organisation, a United Nations agency, the US has tabled amendments to the 1988 Convention On The Suppression Of Unlawful Acts Against The Safety Of Maritime Navigation so that it will cover terrorist crimes at sea, including using ships as weapons, or to carry weapons of mass destruction or related materials. At present, only if the flag state expressly consents can foreign warships halt a ship flying its flag in international waters - except in a few specific 'universal crimes' cases, such as piracy, slavery and unauthorised broadcasting. The US has proposed that, in future, if PSI countries want to board a suspected terrorist ship on the high seas, they should try to contact the flag state but if no response is received within four hours it will be taken as consent. Meanwhile, PSI members are taking preemptive action wherever they are able to do so legally. Last April, shortly before Mr Bush formally announced the PSI, French authorities, acting on a German government tip-off, ordered a French ship to unload suspicious cargo in an Egyptian port. Originating from a German firm in Hamburg, the cargo included 22 tonnes of aluminium tubes, thought to be key components of high-speed centrifuges for making highly-enriched uranium for nuclear weapons. The German government had denied an export licence for the shipment, which was purportedly directed to a Chinese aeronautics company, because it believed the firm was a North Korean front. French and German authorities also collaborated earlier this year to intercept sodium cyanide, believed to be bound for North Korea's chemical weapons programme. In April, Australian special forces seized a North Korean freighter in Australian waters that was involved in an attempt to smuggle into Australia 125kg of heroin with a street value of up to A$200 million (S$244 million). US and Australian officials suspect that North Korea uses profits from the state-sponsored smuggling of drugs, arms and counterfeit money to help pay for its programmes to develop weapons of mass destruction. Australia worked closely with the US and Japan to track and investigate the 4,000 tonne Pong Su, which had travelled to Japan many times but was registered under a Tuvalu flag of convenience. The Pong Su has been impounded in Australia and its North Korean crew of 30 are in detention until their court trial next month. In recent months, Japan has sharply tightened its searches of North Korean ships calling at Japanese ports. And, in August, responding to a US request, Taiwanese officials confiscated about 150 barrels of phosphorus pentasulphide from a North Korean freighter in the Taiwanese port of Kaohsiung. The chemical - an additive in motor oil and used to make insecticide - can also be used to manufacture nerve gas. The writer, a former Asia Editor of the International Herald Tribune, is a Visiting Senior Research Fellow at the Institute of South-east Asian Studies. He is preparing a research report on maritime security in an age of weapons of mass destruction and increasing international terrorism. This is a personal comment. CONFISCATED: Workers at the Taiwanese port of Kaohsiung unload 158 barrels of phosphorus pentasulphide from a North Korean freighter in August, following a request from the United States. The chemical can be used to manufacture nerve gas. The US State Department applauded the move, saying Taiwan was taking effective action to prevent arms proliferation. Return to Menu F. U.S.-Russia 1. Not Foes Nor Allies, Says Ivanov In remarkably candid remarks, Defense Minister Sergei Ivanov said Monday that Moscow and Washington are neither foes nor allies, and warned that the Kremlin would keep its real military doctrine out of the public eye. Asked whether the United States was a friend or foe, Ivanov gave a blunt answer: "No one fully understands it." "Just as well, the Americans don't know exactly who the Russians are," he said in an interview with Moskovsky Komsomolets. "It has been stated they aren't an enemy, but they aren't allies either, that's for sure." As well as better relations with the United States, Russia has sought to improve relations with NATO, which signed a partnership agreement with Russia last year envisaging cooperation in counterterrorism, nonproliferation and peacekeeping missions. The Kremlin has reacted calmly to NATO's move to incorporate new members in Central and Eastern Europe, including three former Soviet republics in the Baltics. Earlier this month, the Defense Ministry released a document saying that Moscow may rethink its nuclear strategy in response to NATO's "offensive military doctrine." Ivanov reaffirmed that Moscow continues to consider nuclear weapons a political deterrent. However, he added, Moscow will keep details of its military plans under wraps. "It may sound cynical, but everything that we are planning doesn't necessarily have to become public," he said. Return to Menu G. Russia-Iran 1. Russia, Iran to discuss protocol on return of spent nuclear fuel Russia and Iran are to discuss in Moscow on Wednesday a date and place of signing an additional protocol on Tehran`s returning spent nuclear fuel from reactor No. 1 of Iran`s nuclear power plant constructed in Bushehr, a spokesman for the Russian Nuclear Energy Ministry told Itar-Tass on Tuesday. He said an Iranian delegation including Ambassador to Russia Gholam-Reza Shafei, deputy chief of the Iranian Atomic Energy Organization Asadollah Saidi and several top officials of this organization will take part in talks with the Nuclear Energy Ministry. Saidi is chief of the Bushehr project, the spokesman said. He said, "It is also planned to discuss at the talks the progress of the construction according to the work schedule approved a month ago in Tehran." Iranian government`s spokesman Abdollah Ramezanzadeh said in Tehran on Monday that the `matter of signing with Russia the document on the return of spent nuclear fuel is at the stage of finalization`. He denied reports by some of the mass media that commencement of the Bushehr nuclear power plant will be delayed for two years. The Russian Nuclear Energy Ministry spokesman said the `text of the additional protocol on the return of spent nuclear fuel to the Russian-Iranian inter-governmental agreement on the construction of the nuclear power plant in Bushehr has been prepared by the two sides during the visit to Iran of Russian Nuclear Energy Minister Alexander Rumyantsev in the last year`s December`. Return to Menu 2. TRANSPARENCY OF IRAN-RUSSIA NUCLEAR COOPERATION CONFIRMED Moscow, Oct 27, IRNA -- State Duma�s Security Committee Deputy Chairman Victor Ilyukhin here on Monday stressed the transparency of Iran-Russia nuclear cooperation. He told IRNA that Iran proved to the world that the transparency of its nuclear cooperation with Russia should not be doubted. "Given that Iran is Russia�s most significant partner in the region, Russia is not willing to witness any clashes in the country. Turning to keen interest of the Russians in bolstering ties with Iran, he said there is strong public support for Moscow�s foreign policy to this end and called for its proper use in various affairs. "Russia should make the best use of the historical opportunity provided by Iran, given the priority given to Russia in its foreign policy. "Unfortunately, however, the available potentials and facilities have not yet been used to the further expand bilateral relations," he added. He referred to recent visit of the three EU foreign ministers to Iran as Europe�s political victory over the US in settling international issues. "The visit of European ministers to Iran proved their reluctance to repeat Iraq�s crisis in the international scene," he added. Regarding Iran-Russia cooperation on Caspian Sea affairs, he said that in the long-run such cooperation will not only be to the interest of both sides, but all the states bordering the Caspian will benefit from it. Pointing to Iran�s favorable attitude to the initiative on signing an agreement of friendship and cooperation with the Caspian Sea littoral states, he added that Iran is better acquainted with the difficulties associated with the sea. He noted that in case the Caspian littoral states fail to cooperate with one another, foreigners will interfere in their affairs. The prominent Russian lawyer said that the agreements reached between Iran and the former Soviet Union on the Caspian Sea are still legally valid. "As a successor to the former Soviet Union, Russia should cooperate with Iran in accordance to these documents. This will be to the benefit of all Caspian Sea littoral states," he concluded. Return to Menu 3. OFFICIAL HAILS RUSSIAN ROLE IN IRAN-EUROPE TALKS Moscow, Oct 25, IRNA � Iran�s Deputy Foreign Minister for Legal and International Affairs Gholam-Ali Khoshrou said here Saturday that Moscow played a positive role in recent discussions held between Iran and the three European foreign ministers in Tehran. He made the remark in an interview with IRNA prior to his departure for Tehran. Khoshrou arrived in Moscow Thursday night to continue talks with Russian officials on nuclear cooperation between the two countries and Iran�s cooperation with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). He said his visit was aimed at briefing Moscow on Iran�s stands regarding various international issues as well as the agreements reached between Tehran and the foreign ministers of Britain, Germany and France. Russia is a friend of the Islamic Republic with which Iran has had close cooperation in different areas, particularly in nuclear energy, he said adding that the country had constructive cooperation with Iran at the IAEA Board of Governors meeting. Khoshrou further said that the Additional Protocol to the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) has not damaged the country�s national security and its sovereignty. The Islamic Republic has made its nuclear programs transparent and is willing to cooperate with all countries in that regard, he added. Moscow is willing to witness a new chapter opened in relations between Iran and the European states and Russia in different technical and technological fields, Khoshrou said. Return to Menu 4. RUSSIA SATISFIED WITH IRAN'S READINESS TO SIGN ADDITIONAL PROTOCOL TO IAEA GUARANTEE AGREEMENT MOSCOW, October 25 (RIA Novosti correspondent Sergei Zelentsov) - During his consultations with Gholamali Khoshrou, Iranian deputy foreign minister, Sergei Kislyak, Russian deputy foreign minister stated that Russia was satisfied with Iran's readiness to sign the additional protocol to the IAEA guarantee agreement and to provide the agency with exhaustive information on its nuclear programs. According to the information provided on Saturday to RIA Novosti by the Russian foreign ministry, in the course of the meeting the parties "held extensive discussions on urgent matters of Russian-Iranian relations, including alleviation of concerns of the international community in relation to the Iranian nuclear program." The parties agreed to continue Russian-Iranian talks on this matter. Return to Menu 5. IRAN`S DEPUTY FM ARRIVES IN MOSCOW Moscow, Oct 24, IRNA � Iran�s Deputy foreign minister for legal and international affairs Gholamali Khoshrou arrived here Thursday night. He is here to continue talks with Russian officials on nuclear cooperation between the two countries and the cooperation of Iran with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). He is also to confer with Russian foreign ministry official Sergei Kisliak on cooperation with the IAEA, the additional protocol, bilateral relations as well as regional and international issues. Return to Menu H. Russian Nuclear Forces 1. BELARUS NOT TO BE NUCLEAR STATE IN UNION WITH RUSSIA MINSK, October 24 (Itar-Tass) -- Belarus will not be a nuclear state in the Union with Russia, President Alexander Lukashenko said at a Friday press conference. "Belarus should acquire the status of a nuclear state if it had become a component of Russia," he noted. Yet Belarus retains its statehood and sovereignty in the Union, Lukashenko said. In the past Belarus refused from the nuclear status voluntarily and unconditionally, and it did not get any compensations, Lukashenko said. He said nuclear armaments withdrawn from Belarus to Russia cost about $5 billion. Return to Menu I. Russian Nuclear Industry 1. COMMISSION INVESTIGATES INTO FIRING OVEREXPOSED SEVRAO STAFF Minatom of Russia had set up a commission to investigate into the firing of SevRAO employees who were overexposed to radiation in July 2003, as Nuclear.Ru was informed by Nikolai Shingarev, the head of department for interaction with the governmental authorities and information policy of Minatom of Russia. Shingarev said the SevRAO Gremikha-based affiliate company had fired three out of 15 employees who were involved in elimination of non-standard storage bay with solid radioactive waste and irradiated nuclear fuel and received various doses of radiation. The Murmask regional procurator�s office was keen on whether the case was justified by law and sent a formal request to Minatom of Russia. �Now, the especially set up Minatom�s commission will be finding out about the situation�, Shingarev said adding that he did no yet know the causes why the SevRAO employees were fired. He also noted that �Gremikha is the former RF NAVY base where former servicemen are employed and, unfortunately, there is no the proper order there�. He said that SevRAO director had already cancelled the Gremikha affiliate director�s order regarding the firing of the three employees. Return to Menu 2. RUSSIA, EGYPT TO IMPLEMENT JOINT CIVIL SPACE AND NUCLEAR PROGRAMS MOSCOW, OCTOBER 25 (RIA NOVOSTI) - Russia and Egypt intend to expand joint space research, also implementing civil nuclear programs and some others. Russia's Anti-Monopoly Policy Minister Ilya Yuzhanov, who also co-chairs the Russian-Egyptian commission for trade-economic and science-and-technological cooperation, is to take part in the commission's fourth session, slated for October 25-28 in Cairo. The commission's Egyptian section is headed by Egypt's Foreign Trade Minister Youssef Boutros Ghali. Talking to RIA Novosti, officials at the Russian Anti-Monopoly Policy Ministry's press center noted that the Russian Aerospace Agency and Egypt's National Authority for Remote Sensing and Space Sciences would be expected to sign a joint understanding on peaceful space-research programs, after the conference winds up. Moreover, plans are in place to ink yet another mutual understanding in the field of health care, medical science and the pharmaceutical industry. According to ministerial officials, a draft inter-governmental agreement stipulating joint civil nuclear programs, a draft memorandum, which envisages joint plant protection and quarantine measures, as well as a draft cooperation agreement in the veterinary field, will apparently be coordinated at the expert level. Return to Menu 3. ENVIRONMENT COMMITTEE WORRIED ABOUT RUSSIAN NUCLEAR POWER PLANT IN SOSNOVYI BOR "Effects of possible serious accident would reach Finland" The Parliamentary Environment Committee is worried about the extra lease of life being given to the Leningrad nuclear power plant (LNPP) in Sosnovyi Bor in Russia. "The plant is so close to Finland (it is only around 100 kilometres south-east of Kotka, on the south coast of the Gulf of Finland) that the effects of a possible serious accident would reach Finland", the Committee warns in their statement, which was handed to the Ministry for Foreign Affairs on Thursday. The Committee wants the Finnish government to express their concern regarding Finland's nuclear safety if the LNPP is granted an extension to its operation. The first and foremost goal should be to close down the reactors "once they have reached the end of their originally planned service life, unless their safety can be guaranteed in full", suggests the report. In addition to hearing from the Ministry for Foreign Affairs, the Committee have also taken evidence from an expert from the Radiation and Nuclear Safety Authority for their report. Government and opposition party representatives on the Committee unanimously support the views expressed. "The power plant in question is similar to the one in Ignalina in Lithuania, and that one is being shut down because of safety risks", argues Committee Chairman Pentti Tiusanen (Left Alliance). As a matter of fact, shutting down the Ignalina plant is one of the conditions for Lithuania's EU membership. The infamous Chernobyl plant was also of the same type. "One can never be too careful in these matters", points out Heikki A. Ollila (National Coalition). The Environment Committee remembers well the spring of 2002, when the government approved the building of a fifth nuclear reactor in Finland. One of the arguments used in favour was that this would eliminate the need for importing electricity from worn-out nuclear power plants such as the LNPP. "But now no-one is raising any questions concerning the safety of this plant", Tiusanen remarks. The matter is relevant, because the owner company of the LNPP is applying for a 15-year extension to the operating licence for the first unit of the plant. This 1000 MW reactor was first brought online in 1973. The other reactors were started up gradually over the next eight years. The Environment Committee suspect extensions will be applied for in the case of all of these reactors. All four are 1000MW units of the same design as the ill-fated Chernobyl reactor. The Sosnovyi Bor power plant's safety record has iimproved considerably with the introduction of new safety measures and modernisation of some of the equipment, but many other "safety challenges" are still waiting in the unrenovated parts of the plant. In 1992 Finland started co-operation with Russia in order to improve the safety of the nuclear power plants in neighbouring areas. Money and technical aid have been given, but the Committee feels that this type of help cannot permanently solve the region's nuclear safety problems. Return to Menu 4. RUSSIA DROPS AN ANCHOR IN CENTRAL ASIA (excerpted) [...] Putin's trip to Kyrgyzstan, the second in less than a year, had an economic dimension as well. Russia backs its allies and friends, Akayev stated after the economic talks. Contracts totaling some $14 million were signed at a bilateral economic forum, thus raising annual trade turnover between Russia and Kyrgyzstan by 10 percent, Akayev said, according to RIA. However, Putin reportedly conceded that actual volumes of bilateral trade were close to negligible. Nonetheless, Moscow has offered some economic carrots to Kyrgyzstan. For instance, last December, Russian and Kyrgyz officials signed a deal to write off some $40 million of Kyrgyz debt to Moscow. Russian officials indicate that the Kant base is to protect Russian economic interests in the region as well. The Kant base will become an important element of regional security, hence creating favorable conditions for Russian businesses in Kyrgyzstan, Putin said. There are sensitive facilities in the region indeed. Notably, Russia and Kyrgyzstan have formed a $10 million uranium joint venture. The venture's Kara-Baltinsk plant in Kyrgyzstan processes raw uranium from the Zarechnoye field in southern Kazakhstan, where reserves are estimated at 19,000 tons. Given the region's volatility, such a joint venture surely needs top protection. Return to Menu 5. RUSSIAN NUCLEAR PRODUCTION UP 8.7% IN FIRST 9 MONTHS Moscow. (Interfax) - Russian nuclear power plants increased electricity production 8.71% year-on-year to 109.02 billion kWh in the first nine months of 2003, compared with 100.29 billion kWh a year earlier, the State Statistics Committee said. This sharp growth in production was due to the fact that this electricity is cheaper and is gradually squeezing out more expensive thermal power, a source in the Rosenergoatom press service told Interfax. Rosenergoatom explained that the cheapness of the electricity is due to the increased effectiveness of capacity utilization, a reduction in costs and increased safety of production at nuclear plants. Return to Menu J. Official Statements 1. CHEMICAL WEAPONS CONVENTION CONFERENCE CLOSES The Conference of the States Parties to the Chemical Weapons Convention, convened in the Hague from 20 to 24 October 2003, ended its eighth session on Friday, 24 October 2003. Delegations from 116 of the Organisation�s 157 Member States (including the Contracting States Parties Kyrgyzstan and Cape Verde) attended. In addition two Signatory States, Israel and Chad, as well as two non-Signatory States, Iraq and Libyan Arab Jamahiriya, participated in the Conference as Observer States. The Chemical Weapons Convention entered into force on 29 April 1997. The Convention's implementing agency, the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW), aims to achieve four principal objectives: the elimination of chemical weapons and the capacity to develop them, the verification of non-proliferation, international assistance and protection in the event of the use, or threat of use, of chemical weapons, and international cooperation in the peaceful use of chemistry. The Conference considered and approved decisions on the extension of the intermediate deadlines for the destruction of the declared chemical weapons stockpiles held by three States Parties. 29 April 2007 has been set up as the revised, intermediate deadline for the destruction of 20% of the chemical weapons declared by the Russian Federation. In full accordance with their obligations under the Convention, the Russian Federation, the United States and another State Party have been granted extensions of the final date of destruction for 45% of their respective stockpiles. The Conference further approved 31 December 2007 as the final date of destruction for 45% of the United States� chemical weapons stockpile. The deadline for the destruction of 100% of the chemical weapons stockpiles held by the Russian Federation and the United States, 29 April 2007, has also been extended in principle, in compliance with the Convention�s stipulations on final destruction. To achieve universal adherence to the Convention, the Conference approved an action plan on the implementation of the obligatory national measures to ban chemical weapons and took note of the action plan on the universality of the Convention, adopted by the Executive Council. The Conference also approved a 6.7% increase in the 2004 budget. The budget now totals � 73,153,390 million. Return to Menu 2. U.S. Says Yukos Arrest Raises Rule of Law Question in Russia Excerpt from State Department Noon Briefing, October 27, 2003 The arrest of Yukos oil company chief Mikhail Khodorkovskiy October 25 in Russia on charges of fraud, tax evasion and forgery raises "questions as to whether the law is being applied selectively," said State Department Spokesman Richard Boucher. "And, naturally, these events raise doubts on the part of companies doing business in Russia and among potential investor," he added. Boucher was speaking in response to a journalist's question during the State Department Daily Press Briefing. He said the United States is "following the case closely." "We're mindful of the implications for the rule of law and for the development of a healthy and transparent business and investment climate in Russia. We're concerned at the escalation and the confrontation with Yukos, but we're not in a position to comment on the specific legal aspects of the case," he said. Following is an excerpt from the October 27 State Department briefing: (begin excerpt) U.S. Department of State Washington, DC October 27, 2003 BRIEFER: Richard Boucher, Spokesman (ON THE RECORD UNLESS OTHERWISE NOTED) [...] QUESTION: What is State Department reaction to Mr. Khodorkovskiy's arrest in Moscow? MR. BOUCHER: Mikhail Khodorkovskiy was arrested early Saturday in Russia and charged with fraud, tax evasion and forgery. We're following the case closely. We're mindful of the implications for the rule of law and for the development of a healthy and transparent business and investment climate in Russia. We're concerned at the escalation and the confrontation with Yukos, but we're not in a position to comment on the specific legal aspects of the case. Nonetheless, recent events do raise questions as to whether the law is being applied selectively. And, naturally, these events raise doubts on the part of companies doing business in Russia and among potential investors. So, at this point, we'll just follow the situation closely and see whether any of these doubts start to materialize. QUESTION: Should the word "negative" be put in front of implications? I mean, they're not positive implications? MR. BOUCHER: No, they are not positive implications. Yeah, we're concerned about the potentially negative implications with the rule of law in this case. QUESTION: Do you know if there was a phone conversation between Secretary Powell and Foreign Minister Ivanov in regard to this issue? MR. BOUCHER: No. QUESTION: Or you've asked for any additional information from the Russian Embassy in Moscow? MR. BOUCHER: We do have embassies. I don't want everybody on every question to ask me if the Secretary has called somebody. He doesn't have to call everybody on everything. We have embassies out there working it. In Moscow, we have our Embassy working on this issue, reporting back. I think I've even seen some public comments by our Ambassador already over the weekend on the case. So, we can be very serious about something without the Secretary having to make a phone call. And we are, indeed, serious about this, and our Embassy is working on it. Michelle. QUESTION: Same issue. Does the U.S. view this as a political case, a politically motivated case? And, secondly, Presidents Bush and Putin had a big energy summit recently. I mean, they've been talking about promoting energy cooperation. Is this going to -- is this arrest and this crackdown going to, sort of, cool efforts on that? MR. BOUCHER: I can't quite draw conclusions for you yet about what the implications are for the energy sector, or for future investment there, anything like that. This has been several months where there has been a prosecutor's probe of Yukos. And there have been assertions that it's politically motivated, and we certainly have said it raises questions about whether there's not some sort of selective prosecution going on here. So, as long as those questions are raised, I suppose it does give some hesitation to people who want to do business in that area or with that company, but what the ultimate effects will be, I can't predict at this point. QUESTION: But the government-to-government relations, I mean, on energy, because that has been a big summit issue in the past? MR. BOUCHER: Well, again, it's an issue that comes up between our governments. It's something we do raise and question when we talk to the Russian Government officials. QUESTION: Russian Minister of Atomic Energy Mr. Rumyantsev will be visiting Washington on November 3rd, I think, and he will be meeting with Energy Secretary Abraham, so will it affect their negotiations? MR. BOUCHER: I don't know. If there is any change in that, you'll have to find out from the Energy Department. Yeah. Elise. QUESTION: Iran? MR. BOUCHER: Can we stay on this? Matt. QUESTION: Just, I just wanted to know if you are aware of anything different in what you said your opening spiel about this arrest and what Ambassador Vershbow said. MR. BOUCHER: Not much. They are very closely coordinated. QUESTION: Didn't think so, exactly. So this message has been delivered by him to the Russian Foreign Ministry? MR. BOUCHER: This is a message that I would say the substance of which is what he's been talking to the Russian Government about, yes. [...] (end excerpt) Return to Menu K. Links 1. Statement by Robert J. Einhorn, Senior Adviser, Center for Strategic and International Studies, Before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee: The Iran Nuclear Issue Return to Menu 2. U.S. Policy and Iran Return to Menu 3. NUCLEAR THREAT REDUCTION CAMPAIGN CALLS ON CONGRESS TO ESTABLISH A GLOBAL CLEANOUT OF DANGEROUS NUCLEAR MATERIALS Return to Menu 4. Preventing Nuclear and Radiological Terrorism Return to Menu 5. GREMIKHA DIVISION OF SEVRAO SACKS IRRADIATED WORKERS TO STAY IN SHADOW OF RADIATION SCANDAL Return to Menu 6. STATEMENT BY MR. S.I. KISLYAK, HEAD OF THE RUSSIAN DELEGATION AT THE 8TH SESSION TO THE CONFERENCE OF THE STATE-PARTIES OF THE CONVENTION FOR THE PROHIBITION OF CHEMICAL WEAPONS Return to Menu 7. The Russian Military�s New �Open Doctrine� 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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