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RANSAC Nuclear News, October 9, 2003 Compiled By: Matthew Bouldin A. Cooperative Threat Reduction
 A. Cooperative Threat Reduction 1. DELTA-I ARRIVED AT SEVERODVINSK FOR DISMANTLING After 30 years of service, in August this year nuclear ballistic missile submarine K-447 of Delta-I class, factory no.311, was tugged for dismantling to Zvezdochka plant in Severodvinsk, Arkhangelsk region, daily Severny Rabochy reported. Nuclear submarine of 667B project, class Delta-I, joined the Russian navy back in 1973. After completing repairs at Zvezdochka in 1992, K-447 returned to its base in January 1993, and now, 10 years later, it awaits dismantling moored in Severodvinsk. The dismantlement is financed through the US-sponsored Cooperative Threat Reduction program. Return to Menu 2. RADIATION CONTROL EQUIPMENT TO BE INSTALLED IN ARKHANGELSK PORTS ARKHANGELSK. Oct 9 (Interfax-Northwest) - Radiation control equipment is to be installed in every port of Arkhangelsk. The United States has assigned about $1 million for the production of the equipment at a plant in Dubna in the Moscow region, sources in the Arkhangelsk administration told Interfax. The equipment will be installed in accordance with an agreement between the U.S. customs and the Russian State Customs Committee. Trucks, which deliver export commodities, as well as people will pass through radiation control. "The United States initiated radiation control in Russia fearing that radioactive materials might be brought to the U.S.," head of the department for customs control of fissile radioactive materials Andrei Burdin has said. No such cargo has been found in Arkhangelsk, he noted. However, metal scrap from Kazakhstan has been detained on the Finnish border. The metal scrap presumably came from the Semipalatinsk nuclear testing ground. Radiation control equipment has been installed in large Russian ports, such as St. Petersburg, Novorossiisk and Nakhodka. There will be radiation control at Arkhangelsk lumber mills that export their products starting from next year. Return to Menu 3. ATOMFLOT DEPUTY DIRECTOR CHARGED WITH STORAGE OF RADIOACTIVE MATERIALS Murmansk region law-enforcement agencies revealed the fact of illegal acquisition and storage of radioactive materials. The appropriate charges were levelled in the end of September against Deputy Director of nuclear icebreakers� base Atomflot Alexander Tyulyakov who had been arrested in August. The local police and the FSB found ammunition and unknown radioactive material during search in his flat, garage and car. The operation and the arrest were kept in secret from public in attempt to find the possible buyers who could order radioactive material, which was sent for evaluation to the local science centre. The official results of the expertise are yet unknown, although it was reported that the material contains uranium-235, uranium-238 and radium. The suspect stored the material in the special protective container, however, anyone who stay for some days close to the container could die of leukemia. Such materials cannot not be found at the Atomflot base, which continues to operate normally, Kommersant daily reported. Return to Menu 4. GAN RF AND US DOE DISCUSSED MPC&A COOPERATION October 1-3 in Gosatomnadzor of Russia (GAN) representatives of GAN and the US Department of Energy met to discuss regulatory issues of radioactive substances and radiation sources physical protection, control and accounting of (MPC&A). GAN press-service reports the US delegation was headed by William Kilmartin and Gary Titimore. The Russian side was represented by experts from association Izotop, SEC NRS of GAN, United Nuclear Research Institute, MosNPO Radon, technical support center of Minatom of Russia. The discussion resulted in priority steps to improve regulatory practices as regards radioactive substances and radiation sources physical protection, control and accounting of. The next meeting is scheduled for December 2003. Return to Menu B. Multilateral Threat Reduction 1. GERMANY TO AID RUSSIA TO DISPOSE OF NUCLEAR SUBS YEKATERINBURG, October 9 (RIA Novosti correspondent Oleg Osipov) - Germany will provide Russia assistance in disposing of nuclear-powered submarines. A deputy nuclear energy minister of Russia and the state secretary of Germany's federal ministry of economics and labor have signed an agreement on assistance to Russia in disposing of relative stockpiles of nuclear weapons by dismantling decommissioned nuclear submarines. Russia's Rossiiskiye Zheleznye Dorogi (Russian Railways) joint-stock company and Germany's DB AG railway company signed a memorandum on understanding to promote cooperation in passenger and cargo transportation. Return to Menu 2. GREAT BRITAIN SOON SIGNS CONTRACT ON DISMANTLING TWO NON-STRATEGIC NUCLEAR SUBMARINES In the framework of the program "Global Partnership Against the Spread of Weapons and Materials of Mass Destruction" approved by the G8 countries, Great Britain following Norway pledged to finance dismantling of two non-strategic submarines, Pravda.ru reported. The negotiations started at the beginning of August with participation of Russia's Atomic Power Ministry. Deputy Director of the Nuclear Programs Department in the British Chamber of Commerce and Industry Steven Traswell visited Sevmashpredpriyatie for the second time. David Field, RWE NUKEM project director, from Germany was the contractor's representative. During the negotiations the parties have reached common understanding and agreed Return to Menu 3. PUTIN, SCHROEDER SUPPORT INITIATIVE TO CREATE EUROPEAN CENTER FOR DISASTER MANAGEMENT YEKATERINBURG, October 9 (RIA Novosti) - At the Russian-German inter-state consultations the sides "supported the initiative of the Russian Emergencies Ministry to create a European Center for Disaster Management." Russian President Vladimir Putin spoke about it at a news conference. At these consultations, we paid considerable attention to the issue of "cooperation in counteracting emergencies," added the head of the Russian state. Return to Menu 4. RUSSIA, GERMANY FOR FURTHER INTERACTION IN G8 YEKATERINBURG, October 9 (Itar-Tass) - Russia and Germany aim for further interaction within the framework of G8 initiatives, Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Thursday at a news conference held jointly with German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder following the talks. "Considerable progress has been achieved in the implementation and coordination of our projects in the area of chemical weapons destruction and utilisation of Russian nuclear submarines since the 2002 summit in Kananaskis, Canada," the president said. "The important inter-departmental agreements signed in the run up to the consultations and right here several minutes ago are to promote the consistent implementation of measures in this sensitive area," Putin said. The Russian president said that he had had more than 20 meetings in various format with the German chancellor since 2000. "Such intensive contacts fully reflect the dynamics of Russo-German interaction," the president said. Return to Menu 5. RUSSIA, GERMANY TO SET UP WORKING GROUP TO FIGHT TERRORISM YEKATERINBURG, October 9 (Itar-Tass) - Russian President Vladimir Putin and German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder have decided "to set up an interdepartmental working group for fighting international terrorism, for non-proliferation of weapons of mass destruction and for opposing drug threat," the Russian president told a news conference on Thursday. He said, "This is a real confirmation of the high level of our partnership". "We realise full well that the broadest of cooperation of all states is needed to fight common menaces," Putin said. "According to this logic, we have concluded the intergovernmental agreement on the transit of German personnel and military property via Russian territory to participate in operations to strengthen security in Afghanistan," Putin said. "This is Russia's specific contribution to the United Nations effort in the region," the president said. Return to Menu 6. JAPAN ALLOCATED MONEY FOR DISMANTLING ONE NUCLEAR SUBMARINE �Europeans are more interested in dismantling Northern fleet nuclear submarines and allocate money for this region specifically�. Russian nuclear minister Alexander Rumyantsev stated that at the final meeting at the IAEA headquarters on September 16th, ITAR-TASS reported. According to Rumyantsev, Russia dismantles 15 nuclear submarines annually in the north-west Russia and Far East. �Recently our European neighbours and Japan expressed their intentions to help Russia with this issue and allocate money for retired nuclear submarines dismantling� added the minister. But the Japanese money can cover only one nuclear submarine dismantling. Return to Menu 7. RUSSIAN PRESIDENT AND GERMAN CHANCELLOR TO MEET IN THE URALS MOSCOW/YEKATERINBURG, October 8 (RIA Novosti) - Two-day Russian-German inter-state consultations will begin in the major industrial and administrative center of the Urals region, Yekaterinburg, on Wednesday, October 8. Taking part in them will be Russian president Vladimir Putin and German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder. Deputy chief of the presidential administration Sergei Prikhodko reported that Germany is the leading foreign trade partner of Russia. Bilateral trade turnover made up 24.7 billion euros in 2002. According to the Kremlin representative, the sides plan to discuss in Yekaterinburg collaboration in power engineering and the use of energy saving technologies. They will also touch upon the possible parameters of German participation in the construction of the North European gas pipeline," he said. In addition, the sides will consider the participation of Germany in building the ferry passage between Russia's Ust-Luga (the Baltic port near St. Petersburg) and Germany's ports. It is expected that Vladimir Putin and Gerhard Schroeder will also discuss cooperation between Moscow and Berlin in the Global Partnership program. According to Prikhodko, Germany is one of the most active Russian partners in the utilization of the nuclear submarines. Germany earmarked 94.2 million euros for this program this year alone and is planning to allocate 1.5 billion euros over the coming 10 years. A number of documents will be signed on the results of the summit. It is planned, the Moscow diplomatic source reported, to sign an agreement on the transit of the military property and personnel from Germany to Afghanistan via Russia. The Russian side hopes that within the framework of the summit an agreement on cooperation in studying the Russian language in Germany and the German language in Russia will be signed, and statement adopted on prolonging for another two years the program of cooperation in training managing personnel. A number of commercial contracts between Russian and German companies in the gas and railway transport spheres are expected to be signed. Return to Menu C. Strategic Arms Reduction 1. RUSSIA, USA TO NEGOTIATE ON SIGNING AMENDMENT TO AGREEMENT ON COOPERATION IN ELIMINATING STRATEGIC OFFENSIVE ARMAMENTS October 7, 2003. (RIA Novosti) - Russia and the United States will conduct negotiations on signing an amendment to the agreement concerning cooperation in the elimination of strategic offensive armaments. As RIA Novosti was told in the government information department, an appropriate resolution was signed by Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Kasyanov. The document says, "To adopt the proposal of the Rosaviacosmos, which has been coordinated with the Russian Defence and Foreign Ministries, on conducting negotiations about signing an amendment to the Agreement between the Russian Aviation and Space Agency and the US Department of Defence concerning cooperation in the elimination of strategic offensive armaments." Return to Menu D. CANWFZ 1. CENTRAL ASIAN STATES POSTPONE NUCLEAR WEAPON-FREE ZONE MEETING WASHINGTON � Efforts to create a nuclear weapon-free zone in Central Asia have been delayed once again because of lingering differences among the five countries involved in negotiating the agreement, a senior U.N. disarmament official told Global Security Newswire yesterday (see GSN, July 22). The five Central Asian nations � Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan � had been expected to meet in the Uzbek capital of Tashkent last month to develop a joint response to comments on a draft zone treaty previously provided by four of the five declared nuclear weapons states. The Tashkent meeting has been postponed, however, because the Central Asian countries have been unable to agree on how to respond to the various comments, said Tsutomu Ishiguri, director of the U.N. Regional Center for Peace and Disarmament in Asia and the Pacific. The postponement of the September meeting has further delayed a process that had been expected to be completed in October of last year. The five Central Asian states had also expected to sign the zone treaty in April. While the five nuclear weapons states cannot prevent the creation of the zone, the Central Asian states have requested that they sign a protocol to the treaty stating that they agree to respect it. Ishiguri said that a new approach had been proposed to the Central Asian states to help resolve the differences among them regarding the comments proposed by the nuclear weapons states. Under the new approach, the Central Asian countries would agree to revert back to the draft treaty text, taking into account advice that has been offered by the U.N. Office of Legal Affairs and the International Atomic Energy Agency, if they could not all agree to accept a particular comment, thereby rejecting it, he said. A meeting is being planned for either late January or February to see if this approach is acceptable to the Central Asian states, Ishiguri said. Return to Menu 2. CENTRAL ASIAN COUNTRIES POSE PROLIFERATION RISKS, HAVE HELPED STRENGTHEN NONPROLIFERATION AGREEMENTS, EXPERTS SAY BOSTON � The five countries that make up the Central Asian region pose significant proliferation risks, but have worked to improve international nonproliferation efforts, experts said yesterday during a panel held at Harvard University. The risks coming from the five Central Asian countries � Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan � are generated by the remnants of the vast former Soviet WMD programs, according to experts. Since gaining their independence, however, the five have undertaken several actions, such as working to create a regional nuclear weapon-free zone, that help to strengthen international nonproliferation regimes. One of the most significant proliferation risks in Central Asia stems from the former Soviet biological weapons program, which used the region for production and testing of such weapons, said Togzhan Kassenova of the Institute for Politics and International Studies at the University of Leeds in the United Kingdom. For example, stockpiles of dangerous pathogens remain on Vozrozhdeniya Island in the Aral Sea � pathogens that could be transferred to the mainland across the shrinking sea by animals or scrap metal scavengers, she said (see GSN, Jan. 9). While Uzbekistan has made progress in decontaminating its section of the island, the Kazakh section still remains contaminated, Kassenova said. The United States is helping to fund the cleanup of the island through the Cooperative Threat Reduction program. In addition, poor security at research facilities throughout Central Asia and the �brain drain� of biological scientists in the region also pose biological proliferation risks, Kassenova said. She also said the region is a natural home for several types of pathogens that could be used for weapons purposes, such as anthrax and hemorrhagic fevers. Terrorists could also work within Central Asia to obtain nuclear weapons-related materials or other radiological materials that could be used in a crude �dirty bomb,� according to Kassenova. For example, there are tens of thousands of �orphaned� radioactive sources throughout the region, which were used during the Soviet era for industrial and medical purposes and in agricultural experiments to extend growing seasons by warming the soil, Kassenova said (see GSN, Oct. 23, 2002). To help illustrate the problem, she said that a 1992 survey in Kazakhstan compiled an inventory of about 100,000 registered radioactive sources. Currently, however, only about half of those sources are still registered � a loss of about 50,000 sources, she said, adding that Kazakhstan was having the most success of the countries in the region in accounting for radioactive sources. The legacy of the Soviet chemical weapons program also remains a proliferation risk in Central Asia, Kassenova said. For example, she said U.S. forces stationed at an Uzbek military base in June 2002 detected the presence of chemical weapons agents � an incident that illustrated how remnants of the Soviet chemical weapons program persist in the region, she said (see GSN, June 24, 2002). In addition, the porous borders in the region could also make it a transit point for the smuggling of Russian chemical weapons, Kassenova said. During yesterday�s panel, Wendin Davis Smith of the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University also complained that a lack of information on Soviet-era WMD programs helped to contribute to the WMD proliferation risks in Central Asia. Russia has continued to withhold information on Soviet WMD efforts from both the Central Asian states themselves and from nongovernmental organizations working in the region on nonproliferation issues, she said. Aiding Nonproliferation Efforts While posing WMD proliferation risks, the five Central Asian states have also helped to strengthen international nonproliferation regimes, said Mariya Kravkova of Booz Allen Hamilton Energy Practice in Washington. For example, after gaining independence the Central Asian countries joined the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty as non-nuclear states, Kravkova said. In addition, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan have signed Additional Protocols to their International Atomic Energy Agency safeguards agreements, which gives the agency the authority to conduct more intrusive inspections, she said. Kravkova added that Kazakhstan is close to signing the Additional Protocol as well. In addition to joining the NPT, the Central Asian states have helped to strengthen international nuclear nonproliferation efforts through their work to create a Central Asian nuclear weapons-free zone, Kravkova said. The five Central Asian states were scheduled to meet in Uzbekistan last month to continue their efforts to establish the zone (see GSN, July 22). The zone, when created, will help enhance the international nuclear nonproliferation regime, she said, because it borders on two regions of proliferation concern � the Middle East and South Asia � and by the fact that it will be the first such zone in the Northern Hemisphere. Kravkova also said that two of the five Central Asian countries have also joined the Biological Weapons Convention. Not all the countries in the region have been able to join that treaty, however, because a lack of information on facilities would put them in noncompliance if they were to do so, she said. Return to Menu E. Russia-Iran 1. TEHRAN TO SIGN SPENT N-FUEL PROTOCOL WITH RUSSIAN AMBASSADOR Moscow, Oct 8, Itar-Tass/ACSNA/IRNA -- Tehran will put its signature to the protocol on the return of spent nuclear fuel to Russia, Iran`s ambassador in Moscow, Gholam-Reza Shafei has told Tass in an interview. Both countries have agreed to sign an agreement spent nuclear fuel would be returned to Russia. "Negotiations are currently in progress on coordinating technicalities. We are hoping the protocol will be signed soon in Tehran or Moscow." Gholam-Reza Shafei expressed the hope Russia and Iran would continue their peaceful cooperation in the Bushehr nuclear power plant construction project. "All work there has been conducted in compliance with international agreements and rules. We are hoping the work will proceed on time, and bilateral cooperation will continue further on," he added. Return to Menu 2. ''RUSSIA'S NEWFOUND INFLUENCE'' (excerpts) Russian President Vladimir Putin is currently trying to navigate the Russian Federation in such a way so that his country's weaknesses can be best shielded while making the most of the issues that have the greatest strategic value on the global stage. How Putin balances Moscow's relationship with the United States with those of the group of Eurasian powers with whom he also deals is the key to Russia's future alignment and well-being in a world of shifting geopolitical alliances. [�] Russia has a unique relationship with Iran in that Moscow holds the power to make Iran a fully nuclear-armed state through its ability to provide the Iranian leadership with all the necessary nuclear training and technology needed to produce nuclear weapons. This runs directly counter to Washington's Iran policy, which is one of careful scrutiny and distrust. Thus, the Iran issue is a point of major contention between the United States and Russia, especially so now as President Bush has been stepping up rhetorical pressure on Iran. This said, President Putin still refuses to be clear on just how far Russia is willing to go to prevent Iran from taking the initiative and becoming a nuclear power and, therefore, a further empowered local player in a key regional area. However, President Bush seemed satisfied with Putin's assurance over the weekend that Moscow would put the needed pressure on Iran to halt any ambitions per the development of nuclear weaponry even though Putin's words were typically less than emphatic: "We discussed in detail the situation around nuclear programs of Iran and North Korea. In our -- it is our conviction that we shall give a clear but respectful signal to Iran about the necessity to continue and expand its cooperation with IAEA." But this is really Putin putting on a great show: he has no desire to visibly and clearly commit to some kind of hard line Iran policy. When it comes to the nuclear issue, it is Moscow's intention and in Russia's interests to keep the extent to which Russia interacts with Iran a matter of ambiguity and, therefore, of leverage for Moscow. As long as Iran has the potential of becoming a nuclear power, Washington is beholden to Moscow because of the latter's perceived ability to sway sentiment in Tehran and because of the fact that Iran's nuclear fate more or less rests with Moscow's desires. If President Putin were to aggressively help the United States eliminate any possibility whatsoever of a nuclear-armed Iran, Russia would lose great bargaining power with the United States in matters of Eurasian regional security; from Washington's perspective, it would be more than happy to remove that key bargaining chip from Putin's hand. [�] Return to Menu F. Russian Nuclear Forces 1. NATO TO QUIZ RUSSIAN MINISTER OVER THREAT COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (AP) � Provoked NATO officials want an explanation from Russia's defense minister of Russia's threat to rethink its nuclear strategy because of the Western alliance's "offensive military doctrine." Thursday's final day of talks by NATO defense ministers in this Rocky Mountain city also will review plans to expand the alliance's peacekeeping mission in Afghanistan and consider a European Union offer to take over peacekeeping in Bosnia. Russian Defense Minister Sergei Ivanov will join his NATO counterparts a week after the document released by his ministry cast a shadow over much-improved relations between Russia and its Cold War rival. Released before a Moscow meeting among Ivanov, President Vladimir Putin and senior military officers, the document noted that NATO had failed to remove "anti-Russian components" from its military plans and political statements. "If NATO is preserved as a military alliance with its existing offensive military doctrine, this will demand a radical reconstruction of Russian military planning ... including changes in Russian nuclear strategy," the ministry said. Separately, Putin said Russia has dozens of stored strategic missiles that would allow it to maintain its strategic potential for years, and Ivanov reiterated that Russia would not rule out a pre-emptive attack anywhere if national interests demand it. "I've no doubt that minister Sergei Ivanov will want to expand on the fairly sketchy details that came out of that meeting," NATO Secretary General Lord Robertson, told a news conference Wednesday on the opening day of the ministers' meeting. After speaking to Ivanov last week, Robertson said the Russian minister has been "at pains to say that some of the reports bore no relation to what the reality was." Russia's relations with the NATO alliance have warmed since the signing last year of a partnership agreement that increased military and political contacts and set up a NATO-Russia Council that sets up regular meetings between Russian ministers and their NATO fellows. Russia's military remains uneasy, however, about NATO's plans to bring in seven new members next year from the old communist bloc, including the former Soviet Baltic states of Latvia, Estonia and Lithuania. "It's been a challenge for Russia to see all the new members, but they have to live with that," said Norway's Defense Minister Kristin Krohn Devold. The deputy chief of Russia's General Staff, Col.-Gen. Yuri Baluyevsky, told reporters last week in Moscow that the Kremlin was bothered by NATO's "anti-Russian orientation" and what he described as NATO plans to "lower the threshold of using nuclear weapons." On Afghanistan, the NATO ministers are expected to reaffirm their commitment to expand the alliance's peacekeeping mission, which currently is restricted to the capital, Kabul. Plans under consideration would see alliance troops fan out into up to eight provincial cities to protect civilian reconstruction teams. The plans could more than double the current NATO force of 5,000, which operates separately form the U.S.-led force hunting fighters of the al-Qaida network and the former Taliban ruling militia in the countryside. Diplomats said the United States was expected to ask for more time to consider the European Union's offer to takeover NATO's 9-year-old peacekeeping mission in Bosnia in next year. A transfer of responsibility to the EU would free up the 1,500 U.S. troops that comprise about 10 percent of the Bosnia force. U.S. officials are unsure, however, of the ability of the EU's fledgling military arm to handle the mission. Washington also is wary of plans by some members of the European bloc to develop military planning facilities independent of NATO. Return to Menu 2. PRESIDENT PUTIN: RUSSIA RESERVES THE RIGHT TO PRE-EMPTIVE STRIKES YEKATERINBURG, October 9 (RIA Novosti) - Russia reserves the right to pre-emptive strikes if such a practice remains in the world, Russian president Vladimir Putin said during the inter-state Russian-German consultations held in Yekaterinburg (regional center in the Urals federal district). "We are against this, but we reserve the right to strike pre-emptive blows," the Russian president said. Putin also spoke about Russian strategic ballistic missiles which "were not on combat duty and were kept in dry conditions" which is, according to him, the prospect for tens of years to come, till the middle of the 21st century. We will perfect our defensive systems during this period, including jointly with the USA, and such talks have been already held," the president said. Return to Menu 3. RUSSIA HAS THREE ENEMIES: EXTERNAL, INTERNAL, AND TRANSBORDER ONES MOSCOW, October 9 (RIA Novosti military analyst Viktor Litovkin). The new views on Russia's defences, which Defence Minister Sergei Ivanov put forth at a conference of military leaders, presupposes three groups of threats - external, internal, and transborder ones. It is important that the threats have been named loud and clear, something which the national security concept or the first military doctrine approved by presidential decree in 2000 did not do. It is even said that Ivanov's report at the Moscow conference is a kind of warning to Russia's neighbours, partners and allies. According to the minister, Moscow regards dangerous the deployment of groups of forces on its borders, the holding of tactical exercises with provocative goals, and the deployment of foreign troops in the border areas as a major external threat. It will also regard such actions as preparations for an attack at Russia or its allies. Other elements of the "risk zone" are territorial claims, the creation of weapons of mass destruction, and interference in Russia's internal affairs by other states and "organisations supported by other countries." Likewise, the Kremlin views as dangerous external threat attacks at Russian military facilities in foreign countries and the expansion of military blocs to the detriment of Russia's security, as well as instability and weakness of state institutes in border countries, or discrimination against and suppression of the rights and freedoms and legitimate interests of Russian citizens in foreign countries. Sergei Ivanov told journalists: "We are not too worried about developments in, say, Chile or Botswana, but should this happen, say, in ... (here the minister paused but did not name any country bordering on Russia), then we will interfere in the situation immediately." And next the minister openly said exactly how the Russian armed forces would interfere in the situation: "by a variety of military actions, including pre-emptive strikes." Colonel-General Yuri Baluyevsky, first deputy chief of the General Staff, told RIA Novosti that it may be "actions by the special troops of the Airborne Force or other similar structures." As the saying goes, "a promise is not the marriage vows." There is a great distance between words and deeds. But the fact that the leaders of the Russian defence department openly proclaim the possibility of interference in the internal affairs of neighbouring countries should their actions threaten Russia's national interests or the legitimate interests, rights and freedoms of its citizens, speaks volumes. At the very least, it has erased ambiguity and understatement from the foreign and military policy of the country. But do Russia and its army have enough resources to take such action? Time will show. So far, Moscow has determined not only external but also internal threats. In enumerating the latter, Sergei Ivanov pointed to attempted use of force to change the constitutional regime and territorial integrity of the country, the creation and operation of illegal armed formations, large-scale operations of organised crime, separatism and actions of radical religious-nationalist movements. In the past, these threats were the responsibility of the Interior Troops and FSB special forces. But from now on, Russia "will regard it as irresponsible to limit the operation of the army to external tasks." The situation in Chechnya shows that the task of defeating illegal armed formations, terrorists and bandits cannot be fulfilled only by the Interior Troops, OMON, SOBR, police (including the republican one), or even FSB special forces. The general purpose units, as well as Blue Berets (airborne force) and Black Berets (Marines) have played and will probably continue to play for a long time the main part in the counter-terrorist operation. But anti-terror experts from the Interior Ministry and FSB will lead the joint group of forces, formulate tasks and appoint zones of responsibility. The efforts of the FSB, the Interior Ministry, the army and the navy must be also integrated to neutralise transborder threats to the sovereignty and national interests of Russia, which arise at the junction of external and internal "anti-state actions." One example is international terrorism, whose members blow up houses in Moscow and Volgodonsk but whose training and equipment are financed by foreign funds, including extremist religious groups. Sergei Ivanov said the range of these threats includes smuggling, drug trafficking and hostile information-technical and information-psychological actions against Russia or its allies. The neutralisation and liquidation of such transborder threats is becoming a direct task of Russia's armed forces. It is believed in the defence department that none of the current conflict situations poses a direct threat to Russia's security but they must not be underestimated either. We must be prepared to any turn of events; we must not wait until they claim lives. Such threats must be precluded or terminated before they develop, said Sergei Ivanov. "Those who fail to abandon stereotypes will be doomed to tragedy," he said. And few people would disagree with that. The situation is complicated by the fact that the country does not have the economic possibilities to get ready to fulfil all defence tasks simultaneously, to make military plans with regard to all aspects of external, internal and transborder threats. We will have to choose priority areas, which is a challenging task for the state and military leaders. It appears that the Russian leadership has made its choice, though. The priority measures enumerated by the minister include the creation of permanent readiness units and formations manned predominantly with contract servicemen and subsequent creation of mobile forces on this basis. There should be 80 such units (including 72 in the armed forces) with the aggregate strength of 147,500. Their creation will end by 2008, when the federal target programme of the transition of the army and navy to service by contract is to be implemented. But there is one problem - money. The defence minister links its solution with the doubling of GDP, the official goal of the president's policy. As for money, we should remember that the share of modern weapons and hardware in the Russian army and navy is barely 20-30%, while the figure for the leading armies of the world is 70-80%. This casts a bright light on the scale of the task facing the national defence industries. It will be extremely difficult - but not impossible, as Sergei Ivanov put it - to catch up with the USA or Britain in this area. Until more allocations are channelled into defence, the strategic deterrence forces will remain the pillar of Russia's national security. They are being reduced yet developed now, getting novel missile systems. And the systems they have now have a sufficiently long life ahead of them, until 2030. Besides, the missiles whose service life is expiring can be replaced with a few dozen of "fresh" UR-100 NUTTKh (SS-19 Stiletto) systems which had never been on combat duty, said President Putin. According to RIA Novosti, these 32 formerly Soviet missiles have been purchased from Ukraine, where they had been stored in depots. Each of them can carry six 750-kiloton individually targeted nuclear warheads. They will be put on combat duty to neutralise threats to Russia's security and guard the creation of a new army. Return to Menu 4. RUSSIA THREATENS NO ONE Russian Defence Minister Sergei Ivanov has delivered a report at a recent conference involving top commanders of this country's Armed Forces. A booklet entitled "Topical Tasks of the Development of The Russian Federation's Armed Forces" was published on the basis of Ivanov's report. Predictably enough, these two events have caused a mixed response, with the mass media already referring to this report as the new Russian military doctrine. Technically speaking, this does not amount to a military doctrine, because Ivanov's report was not discussed by the National Security Council. Nor was this document signed by the President of Russia, thus becoming a guide to action for our Armed Forces. This report deals with the latest global changes, also discussing the Russian military organisation's possible reaction to such changes, as well as its goals and tasks. Incidentally, the NATO strategic concept, which was modified during the 1999 Washington summit, contains virtually the same provisions. Unlike Ivanov's report, which is a veritable "letter of intent", the strategic concept is a guide to action for 20 current NATO members and nine prospective ones. Moreover, the concept's contents are much more serious than those of Ivanov's report. At any rate, various combat objectives being mentioned by the Russian Defence Minister do not transcend CIS boundaries, or those of Russia's allies. Meanwhile the NATO strategy encompasses the entire world, reaching far beyond the North Atlantic region as the NATO zone of responsibility. This is highlighted by events in Afghanistan. Still let us leave this comparison alone. Does Ivanov's report send out any serious message to Brussels? Yes, it does. However, one can say that this message is somewhat contradictory. On the one hand, the Russian military leadership notes a positive trend, i.e. expanded partner-like relations with NATO and the United States. Such partner-like relations match the new level of political interaction between countries. This made it possible to establish additional structures and institutions for the sake of ensuring global stability. This is particularly true of mutual partnership within the framework of the Russia-NATO Council. On the other hand, though, Ivanov's report emphasises the fact that Russia, which is closely following the NATO transformation process, also hopes that direct and indirect anti-Russian components be removed from the NATO military-planning process, as well as political declarations of NATO countries. Military experts know perfectly well that the anti-Russian bias of the military-planning process wasn't mentioned by sheer coincidence. NATO boasts the nuclear-planning committee, which does not study the theoretical possibility of using nuclear weapons against such terrorist organisations as al-Qaeda or the Taliban. On the contrary, the nuclear-planning committee analyses this possibility with regard to other nuclear powers, except the United States, France and Great Britain. This makes up for a total of four countries, namely, Israel, India, Pakistan and Russia. It goes without saying that Israel is not targeted by NATO's nuclear weapons. Mind you, the 150 V-61 glider bombs, which are deployed by the US Air Force at ten European bases, are not spearheaded against Israel. Nor do they target New Delhi and Islamabad just because tactical bombers capable of carrying such glider bombs will never reach these two cities from Italy, Belgium, Norway and Turkey. At the same time, Russian generals and everyone else know all about their possible targets. Consequently, double-dealing standards should not be applied to the mutual-threat concept. Incidentally, Russia doesn't store its tactical nuclear weapons elsewhere. Moreover, such weapons, which are not wielded by combat elements, can only be found at central technical compounds. Frankly speaking, any unbiased expert would perceive this as a tell-tale sign. At the same time, we should not overlook the fact that Ivanov's report openly notes the possible use of Russia's Armed Forces along the western strategic axis. Specific combat-operation methods, i.e. aerospace operations, naval operations and ground operations, are mentioned, as well. All the main objectives are to be accomplished by means of long-range strikes prior to the commitment of forward based units. The same is true of swift combined operations, which are renowned for their impressive manoeuvrability, and which aim to hit military formations, military installations, as well as economic centres and their infrastructure. I talked to former first Russian deputy defence minister and former NSC secretary Andrei Kokoshin, who is now a member of the State Duma, and who also heads the Institute of International Security Problems (Russian Academy of Sciences). And I asked Kokoshin about the gist of this contradiction. On the one hand, the army-development concept claims that a global nuclear war, as well as a large-scale conventional war against NATO and the United States, are omitted from the list of the most likely military conflicts involving the Russian Armed Forces. On the other hand, possible large-scale operations are being contemplated along the western strategic axis. According to Kokoshin, this contradiction is a Cold War relapse. Some generals still abide by Cold War categories. Add to this the continued virtual conflict involving a state policy, which aims to establish partner-like relations with the world's leading countries. The military are afraid that such relations do not often attain mutually acceptable goals; consequently, Russia must be ready to cope with military pressure, repelling armed attacks, if need be. The relevant international experience tends to convince Russian generals time and again that certain countries or their coalitions disregard international law under the pretext of fighting terrorism and preventing the proliferation of mass-destruction weapons. Besides, military force is being used to ensure any given state's economic interests, as well as those of big-league trans-national companies. In the obtaining situation, a reminder about large-scale operations serves as a veritable deterrent, rather than a threat, Kokoshin added. Ivanov underscored precisely this concept in his report. Russia would have to overhaul its entire military-planning system and principles for the development of its Armed Forces, including changes in the national nuclear strategy, if NATO retains its status of a military alliance replete with the present-day offensive military doctrine, Ivanov stressed. I think this is a serious warning, rather than a threat, Kokoshin said. Partner-like relations between Russia and NATO, as well as those between Moscow and Washington, imply that we can talk to each other openly and honestly, without lapsing into hysterics, and without staging any public "family quarrels". Apart from that, we can discuss pressing issues respecting each other's positions and concerns. Presidents Vladimir Putin, George Bush Jr., Jacques Chirac, Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder and Prime Minister Tony Blair are setting this example to our countries' politicians and generals. Vladimir Putin mentioned the UR-100-NUTTKH intermediate-range ballistic missile (IRBM) during the above-said top-brass conference. Experts are aware of the fact that their launchers are deployed in central Russia, i.e. near the town of Kozelsk (the Kaluga region) and Tatishchevo village in the Saratov region. These missiles, which have a minimal range of 3,000 km, simply can't hit targets within a shorter radius. A map showing their possible range shows only too clearly that such missiles can't be used to attack Germany or France. Summing up, one can say that such fears are groundless, all the more so as Russian ICBMs have not been targeted anywhere over the last 10 years. And nobody is going to change this. Return to Menu 5. "UNPREDICTABILITY FACTORS" WILL AFFECT MILITARY AND POLITICAL PLANNING - RUSSIAN DEFENCE MINISTER OTTAWA, October 7th, 2003 (RIA Novosti) -- "In the future, unpredictability factors will increasingly affect political and military planning of a greater number of nations, including Russia and Canada," said Russian Defence Minister Sergei Ivanov who is now on an official visit to Canada. On Monday, October 6, Ivanov inspected the former command bunker of the Canadian government near Ottawa. After visiting "the museum of the Cold War," which was founded by the Canadian government in 1994, the minister shared his impressions with Russian reporters who accompanied him. "This is interesting from the historical point of view and also as regards understanding that period of paranoia that twenty-thirty years ago swept the North American continent and, honestly, the territory of the former Soviet Union too," said the minister. At that time, it was necessary to develop the system of civil defence, but now, what I have seen in the bunker made me only smile, said Ivanov. "It was especially funny to hear the radio taped training alert of that time which said: 'As was expected, the Soviet Union has attacked us.'" At the same time, Ivanov pointed out, "the period of the Cold War was a paradise both for those who were planning military operations and for military analysts." Today, in the opinion of the minister, "we are living in a different time, facing other threats, above all terrorism and the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction." "At the present time it has become much more difficult to plan anything, and for this reason the Russian Defence Ministry has introduced a new term - "a factor of unpredictability," said Sergei Ivanov. Return to Menu 6. WEST AGAINST RUSSIA'S NUCLEAR UPGRADE Last week was marked by a new turn in Russia's military policy, the Russian Courier newspaper reports. Russian President Vladimir Putin announced a radical modernization of the Russian nuclear forces. This statement was made after Russian Defense Minister Sergey Ivanov presented the report "Urgent issues regarding the development of the Russian armed forces". The Minister promised not to "rattle the saber", but at the same time, he indicated that Russia was ready to treat nuclear arms as combat weapons, and it did not rule out the possibility of carrying out pre-emptive strikes. According to the newspaper, this gives a new meaning to Russia's defense strategy, adopted on April 21, 2000. If the Defense Ministry's proposals are backed by the presidential decree, one can speak about a new defense doctrine, especially given that the report mentions a potential enemy. As for foreign experts, their reaction was negative. According to them, Russia's "potential enemy" is the United States and NATO. So, the German newspaper Die Welt published an article headlined "Russia warns NATO", saying that Russia threatens NATO with a radical change in its military doctrine. According to the newspaper, Russian authorities will consider the possibility of adopting a new nuclear strategy if NATO remains "aggressive". For its part, the BBC believes that Vladimir Putin resorted to such measures after he failed to agree with his American counterpart George Bush during their recent meeting, or the two leaders might have fallen out. And The Washington Times notes that Mr. Putin decided to review the nuclear doctrine in order to remind NATO about the role of Russia in the international community. However, an increase in the arsenal of the country's most powerful missiles would contradict Russia's plans to remain partners with NATO. In other words, Vladimir Putin's statement was interpreted as imperial ambitions, fraught with the military threat. In his recent statement, the Russian President said that Russia had significant reserves of strategic missiles. He stressed that these were Russia's most powerful missiles, 100MUTTH, capable of breaking through any anti-missile defense system. According to Mr. Putin, the available heavy missiles would be put into active service as the deployed missiles get decommissioned. "All modernization measures will correspond to Russia's national interests and the overall international situation," he added. Return to Menu 7. MILITARY EXPERT VIEWS RUSSIA'S POSSIBLE USE OF PRE-EMPTIVE FORCE Moscow, 6 October: The proclamation of the possibility of the use of preventive military force, including abroad, opens a new page in Russia's military doctrine, the president of the Academy of Military Sciences, Army Gen Makhmut Gareyev, told ITAR-TASS today. Commenting on the Open Doctrine for Modernization of the Russian Armed Forces, outlined recently by Defence Minister Sergey Ivanov, Gareyev noted that "the nature of threats has radically shifted in the past decade, so Russia is forced to be ready to defend its interests and carry out allied commitments not only on its own territory but anywhere in the world". International terrorism is the greatest danger facing Russia at present, he believes. "If terrorist preparations are clear and are proven by intelligence, then precision weapons and special forces should be used to remove the threat," he said. "But this must be in consultation with allies and with others engaged in the fight against terrorism." Asked about the possible use of nuclear weapons in such circumstances, Gareyev stressed that "this will always have a deterrent effect in peacetime". "I don't think anyone would risk using them, except in extremis," he said. Return to Menu 8. PUTIN�S ICBM ANNOUNCEMENT NOT AGGRESSIVE, DEFENSE MINISTER SAYS Russian Defense Minister Sergei Ivanov has said that President Vladimir Putin�s recent announcement that Russia possesses a reserve supply of SS-19 ICBMs was not meant to be aggressive, ITAR-Tass reported yesterday (see GSN, Sept. 24). Putin�s announcement �refutes rumors about Russia�s nuclear missiles being in a critical condition, or that they are antiquated and their guidance systems make them a threat to ourselves,� Ivanov said. �I can�t see anything aggressive in the president�s announcement that Russia has such missiles,� he said (ITAR-Tass/BBC Worldwide Monitoring, Oct. 5). Return to Menu G. Russian Nuclear Industry 1. AREVA GROUP OPENS OFFICE IN MOSCOW On October 8 AREVA Group hosted inauguration ceremony for its Moscow�s office. The ceremony was attended by AREVA Group chairperson of the board Anne Lauvergeon, France ambassador to Russia Jean Cadet, RF minister of atomic energy Alexander Rumyantsev, top managers of enterprises, companies, research and design institutions of Minatom of Russia. �AREVA�s Moscow Office must become an active player and moving force in developing long-term successful cooperation with Minatom of Russia�, Lauvergeon said. Describing AREVA�s activities she noted that besides the main area � products and services for all stages of the closed fuel cycle � the group would acquire a new trade of electricity distribution and transmission, which would make the company one of the largest in the electricity market. In December 2002 AREVA Group and Minatom of Russia signed the protocol of intention to develop nuclear power cooperation and set up several working groups. According to Lauvergeon, AREVA�s Moscow Office�s major task is to facilitate contacts with the Russian side. �This is a great importance for us because we will be able to cater your needs only if we know and understand them well�, she stressed. The Russia-France nuclear cooperation has more than 30-year history. �It has started in several narrow areas and today we cooperate with Minatom nearly in all directions�, said Lauvergeon noting that AREVA Group and its Russian partners are united by the understanding of the necessity to develop nuclear power. Presently AREVA actively participates in HEU-LEU contract implementation, develops cooperation in nuclear fuel fabrication, automated process control systems, upgrades of existing nuclear reactors, discussions on construction of a MOX-fuel fabrication plant in Russia as well as in projects associated with rehabilitation of nuclear sites and decommissioning of nuclear facilities. �We have learned how to work together and we will continue this work�, she said. In turn, Alexander Rumyantsev noted that the setting of AREVA�s Moscow Office is a large-scale event for the Russian nuclear industry. �We have been always active in our cooperation�, the minister said stressing not only technical aspect of the cooperation but also its social and humane nature. He also expressed his confidence that this cooperation would further develop for the benefit of both AREVA Group and the Russian nuclear industry. Return to Menu 2. ROSENERGOATOM AND EDF SIGNED MEMORANDUM OF UNDERSTANDING October 6 Rosenergoatom Director General Oleg Saraev and Electricite de France�s (EDF) Continental Europe Managing Director Mark Budier had signed the memorandum of understanding between Rosenergoatom Concern and EDF to implement a bi-lateral project �VVER-1000 Performance Indicators Improvement�, as Nuclear.Ru was informed by the Concern�s press-center. The memorandum was signed on the meeting date of the Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Kasyanov with French Prime Minister Jean-Pierre Raffaren in Moscow during the 9th session of the Russia-France Commission on bi-lateral cooperation including nuclear power. The bi-lateral industrial project features a principally new nature of cooperation between the countries and fosters initiatives and agreements made by Presidents Vladimir Putin and Jacques Chirac. The project includes safety improvement measures at one of VVER-1000 power units, development and implementation of the fire protection action plan and a program to support Rosenergoatom�s transition to MOX-fuel. The 4-5-year project is expected to cost about 30 million euros. Return to Menu 3. NOVOSIBIRSK PLANT PRODUCED FIRST TIANWAN NUCLEAR CHARGE JSC Novosibirsk Chemical Concentrate Plant (NCCP) fabricated fuel assemblies for the first charge of Tianwan nuclear power plant in China, as Nuclear.Ru was informed by NCCP press-service. The fuel assembly batch will be transferred to JNPC Company, which constructs the nuclear plant, and stored under TVEL�s supervision. When the Chinese side is ready to receive the fuel, it will be sent to Tianwan site. On September 20 a group of Chinese experts headed by JNPC St.Petersburg�s Office chair Wan Yung Fu signed the final fuel acceptance certificate and protocol of compliance. NCCP press-service also informed that September 14-24 the plant received Bulgarian experts from Kozloduy nuclear plant engineering department responsible for VVER-440 and VVER-1000 reactor engineering. They inspected documentation and fuel assemblies against the agreed acceptance test program under the corresponding fuel supply contract with Bulgaria. The test program was fulfilled in full scale, i.e. fuel assemblies produced for Kozloduy nuclear plant were accepted and prepared for shipment to Bulgaria. In the course of inspection the Bulgarian experts had an opportunity to observe the VVER-440 fuel fabrication process, while VVER-1000 assemblies had been made previously and their inspection dealt with the documentation. Return to Menu 4. KHRISTENKO SAYS, NUCLEAR POWER IS NOT FOR PRIVATIZATION �Nuclear power has been, is and will remain the state-owned; it is not subject to privatizing that means it is the direct responsibility of the state�, as deputy head of RF government Viktor Khristenko said to the press conference on results of the meeting �Nuclear Power Development and Kalinin-3 Nuclear Plant Construction Progress�. The meeting held on October 3 at the nuclear plant site was also attended by RF minister of atomic energy Alexander Rumyantsev, chairman of Gosatomnadzor of Russia Alexander Malyshev, Rosenergoatom Concern director general Oleg Saraev, chairman of the board of STPAE Dmitri Ayatskov, federal energy commission chair Georgi Kutovoi, Tver oblast and Udomlya region local administrators and executives. Khristenko noted that the government, when it approved the energy development strategy until 2020, clearly indicated the role of nuclear energy. �This role is not only important, it is growing; nuclear power share will be growing in future�, the vice-prime minister said. Especially noting that nuclear power is not subject to privatization he drew attention to the coming start-up of 15% experimental segment of the energy market. In this regard a number of issues arises: how to combine the growing role and significance of nuclear power, direct responsibility of the state for its conditions and its functioning in market environs, i.e. in the segment that is not regulated by the state. �Today we heard about various concerns regarding nuclear power, on the one hand, and the benefits of its functioning in new conditions, on the other hand�, he said. Khristenko also said that results of the discussion would be the basis for final estimates of the 2004 investment program and for development of new mechanisms, which would allow for meeting challenges of the energy development strategy until 2020 as regards nuclear power while following the rules of the wholesale electricity market. Vice-prime minister said that until November 1 all major decisions for 2004 would be made, i.e. electricity charges for federal power companies (including Rosenergoatom), license fees, etc. �The nuclear power investment preliminary estimates amount 23 billion rubles, however, the program review posed some new issues�, Khristenko said noting that they were not the investment concerns but more precise accounting of the operating costs for 2004. He said the nuclear power cash margin would be widened by 1 to 1.5 billion rubles and said that the 2003-2004 investment targeted for Kalinin-3 construction completion and commissioning had been appropriated in full scale. In 2002-2003 the site consumed over 15 billion rubles. The power unit construction completion plus mothballing will make up 30 billion rubles consumed since 1984�, Khristenko said adding that �Kalinin-3 commissioning will be on schedule and next year it will produce 2 billion kWh of electricity�. Anyway, Alexander Rumyantsev, commenting on Nuclear.Ru�s question about funding and creation of the automated process control system at Kalinin-3, noted that �it was a critical path this spring when the vendors worked and field tests were conducted round-the-clock�. Today the system is being assembled and tested. �There is a slight delay but it will not affect the start-up dates�, the minister said. Andrei Malyshev on his part noted that Kalinin-3 meets all regulatory requirements and that brought the construction license to Rosenergoatom, which covers the current work process at the nuclear unit. Presently Gosatomnadzor reviews the operating license application. In fact, the safety documents have been reviewed an the corresponding regulatory statement is processed. According to Malyshev, the experts do not have any comments, which could hinder the license issuing procedure, however, an inspection of factual state of the safety important systems should be carried out. Return to Menu H. Official Statements 1. RIA NOVOSTI INTERVIEWS ALEXANDER YAKOVENKO, OFFICIAL SPOKESMAN FOR THE RUSSIAN FOREIGN MINISTRY, ON THE STATE OF RUSSIAN-GERMAN RELATIONS (excerpts) [...] Q: What are the priorities of Russian-German interaction in international affairs? A: Russia and Germany stay in close contact on the international scene, thanks to the similarity of the approaches our countries hold on the basic principles of a multi-polar world order, the role of the UN, and the primacy of international law. The significance of joint efforts is even greater in 2003 and 2004 when Germany is a member of the UN Security Council. The agenda of the Russian-German political dialogue on different levels contains such topical international issues as the future of Iraqi settlement, Mideastern conflict, the situation in Afghanistan, development of relations between Russia and the EU and Russia and the UN, and Russian-German interaction in the fields of security, non-proliferation of the WMD, the struggle against international terrorism and other new challenges. Germany is one of Russia's most active partners when it comes to the Global Partnership Program (94.2 million euros were allocated this year out of the ten-year packet of 1.5 billion euros). We are shortly expecting the parties to sign interdepartmental agreements on joint measures to ensure physical security of nuclear materials and weapons subject to utilization, as well as on joint actions to utilize nuclear reactors of written-off nuclear submarines owned by the Northern Fleet. Return to Menu 2. RUSSIAN DEPUTY MINISTER OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS SERGEI KISLYAK MEETS WITH WILLIAM EHRMAN, THE UK DEPUTY UNDERSECRETARY OF STATE FOR DEFENSE AND SECURITY On October 6 Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation Sergei Kislyak met with William Ehrman, the United Kingdom's Deputy Undersecretary of State for Defense and Security. During the talk, Kislyak and Ehrman discussed the state of affairs in the area of WMD nonproliferation, including the United Nations' role in this field. Return to Menu I. Links 1. NATO and Nuclear Disarmament: An Analysis of the Obligations of the NATO Allies of the United States under the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty and the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty Return to Menu 2. Major Challenges Currently Facing the International Nuclear Non-Proliferation Regime Return to Menu DISCLAIMER: Nuclear News is presented for informational purposes only. Views presented in any given article are those of the individual author or source and not of RANSAC. RANSAC takes no responsibility for the technical accuracy of information contained in any article presented in Nuclear News. RANSAC's Nuclear News is compiled two to three times weekly. To be automatically removed from our mailing list, click on the following link: Remove Me From The List If you have questions/comments/concerns, please reply to news@216.119.87.134 |
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