ANTI-NUCLEAR CAMP IN FRONT OF THE NOVOVORONEZH NUCLEAR PLANT

August 17, 1999

http://www.ecoline.ru/antinuclear/eng

10TH anniversary of the environmental action camps in Russia:

10 years of the learning how to effectively resist dangerous industrial projects

International action camp near the Novovoronezh nuclear plant in Russia will be established on August 17, 1999. Since 1989, every year environmental activists from different groups are camping across Russia to protect the nature and public health from dangerous influence of nuclear, oil, forest and other industries through the non-violent direct action and environmental education.

Novovoronezh nuclear plant was established in 1964, it's one of the oldest nuclear plants in Russia. Two nuclear reactors are shut down but not decommissioned and remains dangerous because the spent nuclear fuel is not removed from reactors. Presently, 3 units are in operation at the NV NPP - unit 3 and 4 of VVER-440 design and unit 5 of VVER-1000 design. In 2001-2002 two more units of VVER-440 design at the NV NPP will reach their 30th anniversary and have to be shut down. Several IAEA expert groups concluded that it's impossible to upgrade the Soviet-designed VVER-440s up to western safety standards. Russian Minatom (Ministry of Atomic Power) announced plan to build 2 more units at this nuclear plant. (You can request more information on technical condition of the NV NPP through the contact information below)

Nuclear Safety

Russian nuclear industry presently faces the great lack of cash and can not fund even its own program of the safety upgrade and reactors' repairing. Russian government is not able to extract large subsidies for nuclear industry and the consumers aren't able to pay for reactors as well. In this situation nuclear reactors must be shut down/replaced by the renewable energy and implementation of the energy-efficiency technologies. In Russia, where nuclear reactors generate about 12% of energy and potentials for efficiency are great, such replacement will help to establish a new system based on the sustainable and safe energy.

Plutonium and MOX fuel

Russian Minatom included the NV NPP into its MOX program consist of using the weapon grade plutonium as reactor fuel. This program will lead to more nuclear accidents and the proliferation of weapon-grade materials. Antinuclear camp is part of the global campaign "NIX MOX" of Russian environmental groups working for the prevention of nuclear threats and for establishing of the safer energy system.

Camp

Each person, agreed with the fundamental principles declared by the camp organizers, can take part in the camp. These principles are non-violence, no drugs/alcohol. Bring your tent, waterproof clothes and climbing gear. For more information contact: Antinuclear campaign of the Socio-Ecological Union, phone +7(095)278 4642, +7(095)776 6546, e-mail: <anc@ecoline.ru> and <aln@glasnet.ru> ECODEFENSE!, phone/fax 7(0112)437286, e-mail: <ecodefense@glasnet.ru>

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Russia, U.S. To Hold Arms Talks August 17-19

Friday July 30 10:45 AM ET

http://dailynews.yahoo.com/headlines/wl/story.html?s=v/nm/19990730/wl/arms_russia_1.html

MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russia and the United States will hold talks next month on a START-3 treaty that would make further cuts to their nuclear weapons arsenals, a Foreign Ministry spokesman said Friday.

``The Russian and American sides have agreed to hold consultations on matters relating to the START-3 Treaty and the ABM Treaty in Moscow on August 17-19,'' the spokesman said.

The two sides have already concluded a START-2 nuclear warhead treaty which says the United States and Russia would cut their nuclear arsenals to a maximum of 3,500 warheads by 2003. START-3 is aimed at adding to those cuts.

Progress on moving to START-3 has been stalled after Russia's Communist-dominated State Duma lower house of parliament refused to ratify START-2.

Washington says ratification must take place before further treaties could take effect.

The 1972 Anti-Ballistic Missile treaty is also to be discussed. Washington and Moscow have already negotiated some changes to the treaty but the United States wants to make more changes to allow it to build anti-missile defenses against states it regards as rogue nations, such as North Korea.

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Russia Sets START III Talks Date

Friday, July 30, 1999; 12:06 p.m. EDT

http://search.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/WAPO/19990730/V000084-073099-idx.html

MOSCOW (AP) -- Russia and the United States will hold discussions on the START III arms reduction treaty in Moscow on Aug. 17-19, the Foreign Ministry said Friday.

Russia has yet to ratify the 1993 START II treaty, which would halve the U.S. and Russian nuclear arsenals to 3,000 to 3,500 warheads each. The U.S. Senate ratified it in 1996.

The START III treaty would reduce nuclear arsenals to as few as 2,000 warheads each. But the United States says it will not sign START III until Russia ratifies the earlier treaty.

During a visit to the United States earlier this week, Russian Prime Minister Sergei Stepashin had promised that his Cabinet would try to ``get START II ratified in the fall.''

Russia's Communist-dominated parliament appeared ready to ratify it last December, but the debate was put on hold because of U.S. airstrikes on Iraq, and then again by NATO air raids on Yugoslavia in March.

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DANIEL SCHORR: A nuclear power without electric power

Nando Media, Christian Science Monitor Service, July 30, 1999 4:00 a.m. EDT

http://www2.nando.net/noframes/story/0,2107,75646-119469-847343-0,00.html

- I was reminded the other day of a joke that went the rounds in Moscow in 1957. The Soviet Union, though dreadfully short of consumer goods, had managed to leap ahead of America in space by launching the first two orbiting satellites, one with a dog on board. Communist Chief Nikita Khrushchev boasted that America now lay defenseless before superior Soviet military technology.

As the joke had it, Khrushchev called a secret meeting of his war council to plan a knockout blow against the United States. Fifty tourists would be sent to America with suitcases containing miniaturized hydrogen bombs and would spread out to strategic locations. The bombs would be simultaneously detonated by an electronic command from Moscow.

Khrushchev asked his ministers whether anyone saw anything wrong with the plan. Most said the plan was technically feasible.

Finally, one minister spoke up. "But, Comrade Khrushchev, where do we find 50 suitcases?"

What brought this joke back to mind was reading that Russia has recently staged its biggest military exercise, called West '99. Its premise was an invasion of Russia from the West, with demoralized Russian conventional forces unable to offer successful resistance. Finally nuclear weapons are deployed.

A hint to NATO that Russia is still a nuclear power and not to be taken lightly.

At one point in the crisis over Kosovo, President Boris Yeltsin issued an incomprehensible warning that a NATO-Russian confrontation over Kosovo could lead to nuclear war.

That took me back to the 1950s, when Secretary of State John Foster Dulles enunciated a doctrine of possible nuclear response to Soviet aggression in Europe by immensely superior conventional forces. "A bigger bang for the buck," we called the Dulles doctrine. The Yeltsin doctrine could be called, "A bigger rumble for the ruble."

But then came a report that Russia's nuclear missile forces near the Chinese border were left without power for a time. Garrisons went dark.

Pumps stopped pumping. The reason for the blackout was that the electricity bill had not been paid by the money-strapped armed forces and the power company got tired of waiting. It was at least the third time this had happened. And the same thing happened at a nuclear submarine base.

It was downright embarrassing for a government that had spent two weeks in exercises, had sent bombers into air space near Norway and Iceland to show its military muscle, but couldn't be sure of its electricity.

Yes, comrade, but where do you get 50 suitcases?

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Finding Customers for Nuclear-Waste Storage

By John J. Fialka Staff Reporter of The Wall Street Journal

July 26, 1999, sent by Dr. Oliver Meier - meier@maxess.ch

WASHINGTON -- The Russian government will look to the U.S. for help in searching the world for customers for its proposed nuclear waste-storage business, which it sees as a potential $15 billion enterprise.

Under the plan, nations would pay as much as $1.5 million per metric ton to have an estimated 10,000 tons of nuclear waste moved to Russia. The expected profits will, among other things, pay Russian weapons scientists to clean up the vast environmental mess left by its nuclear weapons complex and nuclear submarine programs.

"We are going to be guided" by the rule: "First, do no harm," explained Yevgeny Adamov, director of Russia's Ministry of Atomic Energy, in a telephone interview. He will be here next week to discuss the project with U.S. officials. Because much of the spent nuclear fuel in temporary storage in various countries originated from the U.S., sending it to a Russian storage site will require U.S. permission.

Vice President Al Gore and others who will discuss the project with the Russians have formed a working group to study it, said P.J. Crowley, a spokesman for the U.S. National Security Council. Mr. Crowley cj?j it "an interesting project, one that's worth looking into," but said there are still many questions to be answered.

The project, likely to attract some opposition from Russian environmental groups, is being guided by the Natural Resources Defense Council, a U.S. environmental group. The Ministry of Atomic Energy will run the project in partnership with Non Proliferation Trust Inc., a U.S. company headed by Adm. Bruce DeMars, who formerly ran the U.S. Navy's nuclear propulsion program.

Mr. Adamov said he hoped the U.S. would help sell the program to more than a dozen countries, such as Taiwan, which have nuclear reactors but no permanent waste site. "Bringing our efforts together will help address such issues as nonproliferation and terrorism," said the Russian minister. Spent nuclear power-plant fuel, which is highly radioactive, contains large quantities of plutonium, a metal used in nuclear weapons.

Roughly 25% of the profits from the waste-storage business would be needed to construct a temporary, surface storage site in Russia. The rest of the money could be used for a variety of weapons-related environmental cleanups, to create a permanent underground storage site and to provide aid to "distressed" Russian citizens, including pensioners, veterans and orphans. Mr. Adamov called the project a "happy accommodation" with Russia's needs, which include finding non-weapons-related work for scientists and engineers in 10 formerly secret cities where Russia's nuclear weapons were designed and produced.

Two sites being considered for storage of the foreign waste, he said, are near those currently used for nuclear waste from plants in the former Soviet Union. One is in the Krasnoyarsk area of Siberia. Another is near Chelyabinsk, a city in the Ural Mountains.

The Russian minister said his government is drafting a legal change, which must be approved by its parliament, to allow the import of the nuclear wastes. The U.S. company would take title to the waste, lease land for storage from Russia and design the storage site to accepted international environmental and safety standards.

Money collected from nations exporting the nuclear waste to Russia would be held outside Russia in a series of trusts, managed by Americans, said Thomas B. Cochran, a senior scientist with the Natural Resources Defense Council. He said the New York-based NRDC will act as an adviser to the project, but will not be involved with the commercial aspects of the program.

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Russian PM, Gore to Talk Nukes

By Barry Schweid, AP Diplomatic Writer,, July 23, 1999; 2:02 p.m. EDT

http://search.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/WAPO/19990723/V000320-072399-idx.html

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Vice President Al Gore intends to set a schedule with Russian Prime Minister Sergei Stepashin next week for further reductions in nuclear weapons.

But Gore's foreign policy assistant, Leon Fuerth, said the one-day visit by Stepashin was unlikely to produce any major agreements. ``We have to get warmed up with a brand new government,'' he said.

Stepashin will meet President Clinton on Tuesday after two sessions with Gore on trade, science, space and other topics that are the business of their joint commission on economic and technological cooperation.

Russian President Boris Yeltsin on Thursday authorized Stepashin to discuss new reductions in nuclear arms with the United States while the Russian parliament declines to act on the 1993 START II treaty, which called for deep cuts on both sides' long-range nuclear warheads to 3,000 to 3,500 apiece.

Clinton, at a meeting with Yeltsin in Germany last month, got a green light for U.S. development of anti-missile defenses.

The 1972 Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty prohibits a nationwide defense system on the theory that deters nuclear attack because the retaliation would be devastating.

Russia and many arms control supporters in the United States consider the treaty a bedrock of arms control. But Fuerth said, ``We both realize there is an evolving threat to both of our countries.''

On his way here, Stepashin plans to stop in Seattle to take a close look at major American corporations. He also hopes to pocket a large loan from the International Monetary Fund, but a decision is not expected until later in the week.

With Russia's economy lagging, the IMF appears ready to approve $4.5 billion in new loans, beginning with an initial $630 million.

``We are reasonably optimistic,'' Fuerth said at a news conference Friday.

Total foreign investment in Russia was $1.5 billion in January-March, down from $2.5 billion in the corresponding period last year. Direct investment totaled $600 million, down 20 percent.

IMF Managing Director Michel Camdessus said in early July that Russia was meeting conditions laid down by the IMF. An IMF delegation had gone to Moscow and praised Russia's latest economic moves.

The Russian parliament has approved fiscal consolidation, tax laws and changes in the banking system.

Carlos Pascual, who heads the Russia desk at the National Security Council, said Friday that a U.S. delegation would go to Russia later in the summer to evaluate the harvest and any needs for food aid.

U.S.-Russian relations are on the rebound from disagreement over the war in Kosovo.

Russia objected to the NATO bombardment of Yugoslavia but helped arrange a settlement that removed all Serb troops and special police from the province. Russian troops are serving as peacekeepers along with NATO troops from the United States and Europe.

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Q&A 'Partners . . . Should Respect Each Other'

Sunday, July 25, 1999; Page B01

http://search.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/WPlate/1999-07/25/122l-072599-idx.html

This week, Russian Prime Minister Sergei Stepashin will meet here with Vice President Gore and President Clinton, both of whom are eager to patch up differences with Russia that emerged during the Kosovo war. Although Stepashin is expecting the approval of a new $4.5 billion loan from the International Monetary Fund and is expecting to receive a warm welcome at the Clinton White House, rumors circulate in Moscow that he will not last. Stepashin, 47, who became prime minister in mid-May, admits he's aware of the rumors, but no one--except perhaps Stepashin's patron, the politically capricious Boris Yeltsin--can predict the Kremlin's next move.

On the eve of his first trip to Washington, Stepashin sat in the Russian "White House" and spoke expansively about his intent to repair the U.S.-Russia relationship during an interview with Newsweek contributing editor and Washington Post columnist Lally Weymouth. Excerpts follow:

What do you hope to achieve in your meeting with Vice President Gore?

I had a number of telephone conversations at a difficult time with the vice president during the Kosovo settlement. I had the impression that the vice president and I understood each other, although we were speaking through interpreters.

There are two tasks I hope to accomplish during the visit. The first is to get to know Gore. I believe good personal contact can be helpful in solving difficult questions. Second, we're going to discuss economic matters such as [Russian rocket] launches [of U.S. satellites] and steel quotas. Then we will discuss the reconstruction of Kosovo and Yugoslavia. I would [also] like to find out what the vice president thinks about the ABM and START II [arms control] treaties.

How much damage has Kosovo done to the U.S.-Russia relationship?

No doubt, serious damage has been done. However, I believe that our relationship is stable and can't be shattered even by the war in Yugoslavia. We should draw lessons from Yugoslavia: If we are partners, and we are serious partners, we should respect each others' positions and strive for compromise before military action begins. . . . At the moment, we are at an impasse. We are very concerned with NATO enlargement and expansion.

The administration has linked an increase in the number of Russian launches of U.S. satellites to a cutback in supplies of missile and nuclear technology from Russia to Iran. Has Russia stopped supplying Iran?

Nobody has proved that it is Russia who supplies missile technologies to Iran. . . .

Obviously, the United States has sanctioned companies here, so the United States [must] believe Russian entities continue to proliferate weapons of mass destruction.

The more restrictions that are placed on Russia, the more difficulties there are for investments to come to Russian markets, the more our companies--in order to survive--will seek any outlet to market their goods, even using shady deals.

The trade relationship between the United States and Russia is uneasy. Russia wants to sell more steel in the U.S. market, and America wants more access to Russian markets for aircraft. What solution do you see, and when is Russia going to join the WTO [World Trade Organization]?

We shall join the WTO. The only problem is the date of our entry. I've mentioned already the problem of steel exports. I should not hide [the fact] that U.S. restrictions dealt a serious blow to our steel market. I would like to note that Vice President [Gore] has supported me. But I understand that the president and vice president must take Congress and the steel lobby into account now that elections are coming up. I also want to raise the issue of the aerospace industry--I am going to Seattle to visit Boeing and will discuss cooperation.

Rumors are swirling that you won't last long as prime minister. Is there any truth to the reports? Do you plan to be a presidential candidate? Who is seeking to undermine you?

If I give you an open and frank answer, I would be sacked immediately. A joke. Of course, there are such rumors, and in a situation of political instability with elections coming up, such rumors are inevitable. I don't pay much attention because I have been in politics for 10 years and have learned to ignore such rumors. What is most important is how one's colleagues and family feel. . . .

As for the presidential election, there are many candidates for the job, but the balance of forces will be clear after the elections to the parliament in December. At that time, we shall probably know who the president will support. If you want to ask who I will vote for, I will not cite a name but I will cite two criteria: First, it must be a person who will not lead us backward and second, I would not want this person to be of pension age.

Will you be a candidate yourself?

It is too early to say now.

Would you rule out being a candidate for the presidency?

I'm 47 years old and I have no plans to retire.

Did the military or the president order the Russian troops to march into the airport at Pristina [Kosovo] without NATO's knowledge? The foreign minister said he was unaware of the action. Were you?

I believe the episode can be explained by a lack of coordination between our military and NATO.

It's reported that General [Anatoly] Kvashnin [chief of the Russian general staff] was in charge that night.

Kvashnin is a very disciplined general and would never make a decision like that himself.

Without the president or yourself ordering it?

I am the prime minister, not commander of the armed forces. Of course, the president is the commander in chief.

President Yeltsin has spoken openly about banning the Communist Party. What do you think of the idea?

I would take a different approach to this question. It's not a matter of banning or not banning the Communist Party. It is a question of any big political party like the Communists complying with the constitution. [They must not] talk about toppling the government or fan ethnic tensions by their electoral rhetoric. This is a serious concern for us. There are other ways to influence political parties--through the Ministry of Justice, the prosecutor's office and the courts. All these levers will be actively used.

I understand that the IMF board will soon grant Russia the loan it has been seeking. Will you be able to meet the general conditions the IMF has laid down for Russia?

Mostly, the loan we are getting from the IMF will be used to repay our debt to the organization [the IMF]. On the other hand, the World Bank will provide additional loans for the reconstruction of the coal industry and for other programs.

Only one year after [last August's] default, we've already gotten real results in industry and agriculture, despite the drought. [We've made progress] in restructuring the banking system and in containing inflation. I am fully convinced that between now and the end of next year, Russia will not see any major economic and financial shocks because of the work of my government. Our primary task for the long-term is developing a free and attractive investment climate.

What about the ongoing war in Chechnya? Are you trying to contain the war from spilling over into Dagestan? Do you see a threat to Russia?

We are trying to stop the strife from going not only to Dagestan, but also to the Stavropol region. We are working every day on this.

The most important thing is to improve economic conditions there. There are many Chechens without work or shelter. We should make sure that gangsters do not use the idea of independence as a cover for their crimes.

The problem of Chechnya's constitutional status [it is part of the Russian federation, though effectively independent] is complicated. We are now preparing a meeting between Chechen President Aslan Maskhadov and President Yeltsin. I am personally engaged in this.

You know I fought in Chechnya. . . . NATO partially repeated our bitter experience when they conducted airstrikes against Yugoslavia and Kosovo. I believe it is an unproductive idea to defend human rights with weapons.

People say that corruption and organized crime are huge problems in this country. What can you do about it?

I won't deny that there is a problem with corruption and organized crime in Russia. However, it is exaggerated by the media and the politicians. The most important problem is economic crime. A special department has been set up in the Interior Ministry to fight money laundering. And we have very good relations with the American law enforcement agencies including the FBI and [FBI Director] Louis Freeh. We cooperate on drug smuggling and organized crime.

In conclusion, I would like to convey my deep condolences to the Kennedy family. Russians are very nostalgic about the Kennedys. And we are very sorry that such a good young man died so senselessly.

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Stepashin Pleads for Money for Navy

Sunday, July 25, 1999; 11:25 a.m. EDT

http://search.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/WAPO/19990725/V000610-072599-idx.html

MOSCOW (AP) -- Russia's prime minister on Sunday urged more spending for the country's navy, which has struggled to keep its fleets seaworthy in recent years amid shrinking budgets for maintenance and fuel.

``The navy needs one kind of help: a normal material base, normal financing and upkeep,'' Prime Minister Sergei Stepashin told reporters while visiting the Far Eastern port city of Vladivostok, the base of Russia's Pacific Fleet.

``Ships should be going out to sea. ... The Russian government should take care of this,'' he said in remarks carried on Russian television. ``I will take care of this.''

He gave no specific promises or figures.

Stepashin was visiting the base to mark Navy Day, celebrating a force founded by Peter the Great more than 300 years ago. The once formidable navy -- and the whole Russian military -- has lost much of its strength since the 1991 collapse of the Soviet Union. Many ships sit rusting in port.

Stepashin, whose father was a naval officer, was to head to the United States later Sunday. He will visit Seattle and then continue to Washington for talks with Vice President Al Gore.

The visit is aimed at patching up U.S.-Russian relations that fell to their lowest point in the post-Cold War era during NATO airstrikes on Yugoslavia, which Russia fiercely opposed.

The talks are expected to focus on Russia's economic woes, prospects for Russian ratification of the START II arms control treaty and U.S. concerns about the spread of Russian nuclear technology.

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Russia Seeks U.S. Farm, Airline Aid

By Tim Klass Associated Press Writer Sunday, July 25, 1999; 9:01 p.m. EDT

http://search.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/WAPO/19990725/V000919-072599-idx.html

EVERETT, Wash. (AP) -- Prime Minister Sergei Stepashin and other Russian officials arrived Sunday in the United States in a bid to seek U.S. aid for Russian farms and airlines and to discuss a steel trade dispute.

Stepashin's U.S. visit, his first since his appointment in May, is aimed at mending relations that fell to their lowest point in the post-Cold War era during NATO's airstrikes on Yugoslavia. Russia fiercely opposed the bombings but now has peacekeeping troops serving alongside NATO in Kosovo.

``There is still hard work to do to ... restore confidence undermined by NATO's military action against Yugoslavia,'' Stepashin told reporters in the Far Eastern port city Vladivostok before leaving Sunday, according to Russian news agencies. ``We need to get back to serious dialogue.''

The Russian premier is also seeking to boost U.S. investment in his country's flailing economy.

Stepashin arrived in Everett, Wash., just before 2:30 p.m. He toured the factory here where Boeing 747s, 767s and 777s are made. With Boeing president Harry C. Stonecipher constantly beside him, Stepashin examined the interior of a newly painted 767 scheduled for delivery to Aeroflot next month.

Stepashin and his entourage met behind closed doors with Boeing for about four hours before heading 25 miles south to Seattle for a banquet hosted by Washington Gov. Gary Locke.

Stepashin heads to Washington on Tuesday, where he will meet with his host, Vice President Al Gore, and with President Clinton and other officials.

Russia's Federal Aviation Service is appealing for $1 billion in loans guaranteed by the U.S. Export-Import Bank to build 20 Il-96M/T planes for Russia's flagship carrier Aeroflot, the Interfax news agency said.

The Russian delegation is to talk with U.S. farm machine manufacturers John Deere and Co. and Case Corp. about proposed loans for $1 billion worth of agriculture equipment, Interfax reported. Stepashin is not planning to ask for more food aid, the ITAR-Tass news agency reported, citing Richard Fritz, a U.S. Agriculture Department official.

Stepashin said Sunday he would voice Russian concerns about a trade agreement reached earlier this month sharply limiting Russian steel exports to the United States, which had accused Russia of ``dumping'' steel at below manufacturing cost.

Russia has said its prices are fair and warned the deal will seriously hurt its steel industry, which makes up 7 percent of gross domestic product.

Stepashin's talks will also focus on a proposed loan from the International Monetary Fund, prospects for Russian ratification of the START II arms control treaty, and U.S. concerns about the spread of Russian nuclear technology.

Stepashin said Sunday that President Boris Yeltsin had instructed the Defense and Foreign Ministries to work on the long-stalled START-2 nuclear arms reduction treaty, as well as START-3 and the Anti-Ballistic Missile treaty, before his meeting with Clinton, ITAR-Tass reported.

Yeltsin and Clinton agreed to modifications in the ABM treaty three years ago, but the U.S. administration has said it would not submit the modifications to the U.S. Senate until the Russian parliament ratifies START-2.

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Vice President Gore, Prime Minister Stepashin Resume Work of U.S.-Russia Binational Commission

Office of the Vice President, 202-456-7035; U.S. Newswire 27 Jul 21:02

http://www.usnewswire.com/topnews/Current_Releases/0727-157.htm

WASHINGTON, July 27 /U.S. Newswire/ -- Vice President Al Gore and Russian Prime Minister Sergey Stepashin -- co-chairs of the U.S.-Russian Joint Commission on Economic and Technological Cooperation -- put U.S.-Russian relations back on track today with detailed discussions on economic and security issues.

They also met with President Clinton, and announced this afternoon that the two countries would begin discussions on START III and the ABM Treaty next month in Moscow. Today's announcement follows an agreement reached by President Clinton and President Yeltsin at the G-8 Summit in Cologne that discussions would begin this summer on START III and ABM.

"The United States and Russia have long understood that reducing nuclear arsenals is in our mutual interest," Vice President Gore said. "That is why we will continue to press for ratification of START II and begin discussions next month toward START III."

"In addition, we both understand that there are ballistic missile threats we both face that do not come from each other, but from other nations. That is why it is important -- in parallel with achieving our arms control objectives -- to discuss implications for the ABM Treaty should the United States decide to deploy a National Missile Defense."

The Vice President and Prime Minister also discussed Russia's economic reform agenda, non-proliferation, and commercial space cooperation, and the Vice President expressed his deep concern over recent acts of anti-Semitism in Russia.

The Vice President and Prime Minister also set priorities for the future work of the Commission, including efforts to enhance Y2K cooperation, to promote investment and economic growth in Russia, to strengthen cooperation in law enforcement and the rule of law, and to tighten Russian export controls to halt nuclear and missile proliferation to rogue states.

"As we approach the new millennium, more and more of our challenges are threats all nations face together, and no nation can solve on its own," Vice President Gore said. "In this new era, strong U.S.-Russia ties will be an essential component of American national security and global stability. That's why I am eager to keep building our partnership with Russia -- to enhance the chance for peace and prosperity for both our countries in the coming century."

FACTS ON THE U.S.-RUSSIA JOINT COMMISSION ON ECONOMIC AND TECHNOLOGICAL COOPERATION

Founding: The U.S.-Russian Commission on Economic and Technological Cooperation was established in 1993 by President Clinton and President Yeltsin to promote partnership between the United States and Russia based on a shared commitment to democracy and human rights, support for market economies and the rule of law, and international peace and stability.

Structure: The Commission is made up of committees and working groups in the areas of agribusiness; business development; defense conversion; energy; environment; health; law enforcement; nuclear issues; science and technology; small business; and space. The committees and working groups -- each co-chaired by senior U.S. and Russian officials -- work to identify and achieve clear, mutually beneficial objectives, and promote strong partnerships with private companies and non-government organizations. Committees schedule meetings throughout the year, and the full Commission gathers in plenary session to report to the Vice President and Prime Minister on the progress of specific projects and to discuss areas for further cooperation.

The Commission also provides a context for intensive discussions between the Vice President and the Prime Minister on a variety of sensitive bilateral and global issues. Topics include non-proliferation, arms control, and security issues as well as economics and structural reform. This channel has proved to be a useful supplement to U.S.- Russia summits in helping to advance some of the most important and sensitive aspects of our relations with Russia.

Past meetings: The Commission held 10 meetings between 1994 and March of 1998 with Vice President Gore and Prime Minister Chernomyrdin as co-chairs. The most recent meeting of the Commission was held in July, 1998 with then-Prime Minister Kiriyenko. This session will be the first with Prime Minister Stepashin as co-chair.

Accomplishments: Since the U.S.-Russia Commission was founded in 1993, the Commission has helped reduce Russian trade barriers for U.S. products; promote cooperation in space; expedite major commercial projects; stem a diphtheria epidemic in Russia; design production-sharing legislation to allow U.S. investment in the Russian energy sector; and convert to civilian use military facilities formerly associated with the production of nuclear weapons. Under the auspices of the Commission, the U.S. and Russia also agreed to end the production of plutonium for use in nuclear weapons.

In 1998, before the tenth meeting of the Commission, Susan Eisenhower, Chair of the Center for Political and Strategic Studies, told the Washington Post: "(U.S.-Russia) relations right now are more strained than they have been in some time. For just that reason, it would be a disaster if anybody called off the Gore-Chernomyrdin Commission. A dialogue wouldn't take place without that mechanism." The Gore-Chernomyrdin channel -- created through the Binational Commission -- also played an important role in winning the peace in Kosovo.

-0- /U.S. Newswire 202-347-2770/ 07/27 21:02

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Russia's Ivanov warns U.S. of new arms race

07:39 a.m. Jul 27, 1999 Eastern

http://www.dogpile.com/ Newswires search

BONN, July 27 (Reuters) - The United States and NATO risk provoking a new nuclear arms race with Moscow if they seek to impose their will on the rest of the world, Russian Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov was quoted on Tuesday as saying.

``I hope it won't come to that,'' he told the German weekly news magazine Stern, repeating Russia's opposition to the surviving Cold War superpower adopting the role of ``world policeman.''

``It would only lead to new tensions, to a new arms race, to nuclear deterrence. It would mean being permanently on the brink of war,'' he said, adding that Russia was ready to take ``military measures'' in response to any expansion of NATO.

The interview appeared as Prime Minister Sergei Stepashin began an official visit to Washington to try to repair relations after Moscow's angry opposition to NATO's attack on Yugoslavia.

Ivanov's tone in the Stern interview sounded harsher than the one he adopted after talks in Singapore on Monday with U.S. Secretary of State Madeleine Albright on the fringes of an Association of South East Asian Nations meeting.

Asked by Stern how Russia would respond to the further expansion of North Atlantic Treaty Organisation membership to other former Soviet bloc states following this year's admission of Poland, Hungary and the Czech Republic, Ivanov said Russia had no right to prevent its former satellites from joining.

But he went on: ``Should Russia's interest be seriously threatened, we will adopt all necessary measures -- including military ones -- to ensure her national security.''

Asked what military moves he was thinking of, Ivanov said Moscow could change its military doctrine and redeploy troops. Russia, like the NATO allies, is bound in its deployment of troops by the Cold War-era Conventional Forces in Europe (CFE) treaty, although both sides are seeking to amend it.

Asked whether a change in doctrine could mean increasing reliance on nuclear weapons as Russia trimmed back its large conscript army, Ivanov told Stern: ``Our army remains capable of action. We are against the nuclear arms race but naturally nuclear weapons play a key role in our country's defence.''

Russia insists that the United Nations Security Council, on which Moscow holds one of five permanent seats with the power of veto, retain a monopoly on the legitimate use of force against states and strongly criticised NATO for circumventing that principle in its bombing campaign against Yugoslavia.

``Can it be allowed that a couple of countries which have set up an elite club should order all the rest about?'' Ivanov said.

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Russia and Iran vow to stop spread of nuclear arms

MOSCOW, Jul 28, 1999 -- (Reuters)

http://www.russiatoday.com/news.php3?id=81848

Russia and Iran have pledged to work together to stop the spread of nuclear missiles in the Middle East, Russia's Foreign Ministry said on Tuesday.

"Our firm resolve was emphasized to promote the aims of the non-proliferation of nuclear weapons," it said in a statement after foreign ministry officials from both states met for talks.

"Both sides again expressed support for an initiative to create a zone in the Middle East which is free of nuclear weapons," it said after the July 26 talks, held in Moscow.

The United States has imposed sanctions on a string of Russian scientific institutes and companies which it says are helping Tehran acquire weapons of mass destruction.

Moscow denies the charges, saying all its nuclear cooperation with Iran is of a strictly civilian nature.

Russia is building a nuclear reactor for Iran in the Gulf port of Bushehr in a $800 million deal and has given approval for talks with Tehran on building three nuclear power plants.

Washington and Israel have often urged Russia to suspend nuclear cooperation with Iran, fearing Tehran may use the technology to develop weapons.

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Russian Premier Warns U.S. Against Role as Policeman

By JOHN M. BRODER, July 28, 1999

http://www.nytimes.com/library/world/europe/072899russia-us.html

WASHINGTON -- Sergei Stepashin, the new prime minister of Russia, warned on Tuesday that the United States should not assume the role of international policeman, a sign that relations between the two countries remain frayed by the American-led military intervention in Kosovo.

Stepashin, in Washington to meet with President Clinton, Vice President Al Gore and other American leaders, rejected the notion of a "Clinton doctrine" of intervention in internal conflicts in sovereign nations. "It is very dangerous," he warned at a luncheon at the National Press Club.

Nevertheless, Stepashin asserted that relations between the United States and Russia had markedly improved after the severe chill brought on by the conflict in Kosovo.

The prime minister announced that the United States and Russia would open planned talks on a new round of nuclear arms reductions next month and would consider mutual reductions in the number of spies in each other's country as a gesture of good will after the end of the Cold War.

Stepashin's visit to Washington was his first since he became prime minister in May. President Boris Yeltsin named him to replace Yevgeny Primakov, whom Yeltsin accused of moving too slowly on political and economic reforms.

His meetings with administration and congressional officials were designed to mend relations that were strained by the conflict in Kosovo, which Russia opposed in part because of its historic ties to Serbia. His visit was also timed to coincide with an International Monetary Fund board meeting that is expected to approve on Wednesday a $4.5-billion loan to help stabilize Russia's floundering economy.

Primakov was scheduled to visit Washington in March but turned his aircraft around over the Atlantic Ocean to return to Moscow after Gore told him that the United States was about to begin bombing Serbian targets in Yugoslavia.

Although Stepashin's sessions with Gore and Clinton were described as cordial, deep divisions remain between the two countries on Kosovo and the United States' view of its role in the world.

Stepashin criticized the administration for plotting to remove the Yugoslav president, Slobodan Milosevic, from power and for refusing to provide food and other aid to help rebuild Serbia after 78 days of heavy allied bombardment.

"The thing is," Stepashin said in response to a question after his luncheon speech, "there are 10 million people there. Summer is there, and people are getting by. However, when the winter sets in, there will be a humanitarian catastrophe in the very heart of Europe. There are no roads. Enterprises have been destroyed. There is no gas supply, no water supply in many areas of the country."

Clinton has ruled out aid for Serbia as long as Milosevic remains in power, a position repeated emphatically on Monday by his national security adviser, Sandy Berger.

"We will not provide one penny for reconstruction and we will not work to bring Serbia into Europe, as we will do with the rest of the region, so long as an indicted war criminal rules in Belgrade," Berger said.

In an afternoon meeting, Gore and Stepashin talked about reducing the espionage efforts each country has aimed at the other.

Neither would respond directly to a question on the matter from a reporter.

"Some questions," Gore said at a press briefing on Tuesday afternoon, "are best dealt with through completely private channels."

But Gore acknowledged that "old attitudes in both countries fade away slowly," leading to over-enthusiastic intelligence-gathering efforts and bloated spy agency budgets. "And then the other side has to spend the same amount," he said.

Stepashin, the former director of Russia's security and counterintelligence services, confirmed that he and Gore had discussed the matter.

"As long as states exist, there will always be special services, intelligence communities," Stepashin said in a man-of-the-world tone. But he added that such ungentlemanly pursuits should not stand in the way of "partner-like" relations between the two countries.

On arms control, Gore and Stepashin reaffirmed a decision announced last month by Clinton and Yeltsin to open negotiations on a Start III treaty, even though the Russian Parliament has let six years pass without ratifying Start II.

They also agreed to talk about the United States' desire to deploy a limited anti-missile defense system that Russia believes would violate the Anti-Ballistic Missile treaty of 1972.

"We both understand that there are ballistic missile threats we both face that do not come from each other, but from other nations," Gore said in a statement. "That is why it is important -- in parallel with achieving our arms control objectives -- to discuss implications for the ABM treaty should the United States decide to deploy a national missile defense."

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U.S., Russia agree to new talks on missiles

By David R. Sands THE WASHINGTON TIMES, July 28, 1999

http://www.washtimes.com/news/news3.html

Russia and the United States will begin a new round of missile talks in Moscow next month that will include discussions on new national missile defense systems, the two countries announced yesterday.

Vice President Al Gore announced plans for the talks after a day of meetings with new Russian Prime Minister Sergei Stepashin, making his first visit to Washington, D.C. since his surprise appointment in May.

The discussions over a proposed START III treaty and an anti-ballistic missile (ABM) defense system will proceed even though the Russian State Duma has yet to ratify the START II arms-control pact agreed to by the two countries in 1993.

Mr. Gore said he and Mr. Stepashin had had some "very productive discussions" on both START III and an ABM accord. "And I am more optimistic about our ability to reach a successful result in both areas," he added.

Mr. Stepashin, who also discussed the missile issue in a brief talk with President Clinton yesterday, arrived in the wake of a rocky period in U.S.-Russian relations, strained particularly by sharp differences over the U.S.-led NATO bombing of Yugoslavia, which Russia opposed.

The little-known counterintelligence officer said yesterday he also hoped to establish a "personal feeling" with U.S. leaders in discussing such issues as security, economic aid and trade, and cooperation in space.

Mr. Gore and Mr. Stepashin told reporters yesterday that some of their time had been devoted to the question of Russian espionage here. The Washington Times previously reported that administration officials asked Russia to reduce the number of agents it has working in the United States.

"As long as states exist, there will always be intelligence communities," said Mr. Stepashin. He said he and Mr. Gore had "found complete understanding" on the point that "neither the special services nor the other agencies of government be allowed to hinder the establishment of partnerlike relations."

Confirming that the espionage issue had been discussed, Mr. Gore said that "some questions are best dealt with in completely private channels." But he added: "Of course, old attitudes in both countries fade away slowly. And sometimes agencies want to use old attitudes as an excuse for old budgets and older personnel rosters."

Mr. Stepashin, Russian President Boris Yeltsin's fourth prime minister in less than a year, took a swipe in a press conference earlier in the day at what some in the U.S. administration are calling "the Clinton Doctrine" -- the idea that nations have the right to intervene in other nations' affairs to prevent grave violations of human rights.

"I don't think that either the United States or some other country is going to be a world guarantor in terms of observing human rights and establishing all rules and rule of law," said Mr. Stepashin. "It's very dangerous."

While Mr. Stepashin said U.S.-Russian relations had improved markedly since the end of the war in Kosovo, he made clear there were still differences between the two powers concerning postwar policy.

National Security Adviser Samuel R. Berger said Monday that "not one penny" should go for reconstruction aid to Yugoslavia while President Slobodan Milosevic remains in power. But Mr. Stepashin told a National Press Club luncheon there would be a "humanitarian catastrophe in the heart of Europe" this winter if funds to rebuild Yugoslavia were withheld.

An international donors conference will be held in Brussels today. Mr. Stepashin, Mr. Clinton and other world leaders are set to gather Friday in Sarajevo, Yugoslavia, to discuss an overall reconstruction plan for the Balkans. Outside pressure to force Mr. Milosevic from power could backfire, Mr. Stepashin said.

"The result is often quite to the contrary," he said. "You have to take into account the psychology of a free people. You have to treat them seriously."

In addition to defense and security issues, Mr. Stepashin tried to reassure his hosts that Russia had undertaken the serious reforms needed to boost its sagging economy and convince international lenders that Russia was again a good credit risk.

Today, the board of the International Monetary Fund will vote on a new $4.5 billion loan package --the first since last summer's surprise devaluation of the ruble shook markets around the world.

GOP congressional leaders expressed some skepticism about Russia's transformation after a visit by Mr. Stepashin to Capitol Hill yesterday morning.

Asked after the meeting whether he was convinced the IMF and U.S. direct-aid funds should be released, Republican Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott told reporters, "Not from what I heard today," adding there were "still some outstanding questions."

But Mr. Stepashin did get a vote of confidence from World Bank President James Wolfensohn, who emerged from a private 40-minute meeting with the prime minister yesterday predicting the new international loans to Russia will help the economy bounce back.

Russia in the past has raised concerns about U.S. efforts to revise the current treaty prohibiting the deployment of anti-missile systems. Mr. Stepashin yesterday said he believed the United States was seeking such a defense not to protect itself from Russia but from "uncontrolled" regimes that posed a threat to Russia as well.

For his part, Mr. Gore said the Russian parliament would have to ratify the START II treaty before serious START III talks could proceed. But he said it was understandable that the Duma had not acted, given Russia's turbulent post-Soviet history.

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'Hot Line' to Connect U.S., Russia

By Tom Raum Associated Press Writer Monday, July 26, 1999; 9:37 a.m. EDT

http://search.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/WAPO/19990726/V000222-072699-idx.html

SINGAPORE (AP) -- Secretary of State Madeleine Albright and Russian Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov announced today they are establishing a communications ``hot line'' to avoid future misunderstandings during times of crisis.

It will be in addition to the secure communications link that has connected the White House and the Kremlin since early in the Cold War era.

Both leaders, at a joint news conference, said sharp differences remain over NATO's air campaign in the Balkans but that relations between Moscow and Washington are on the mend.

``We both said to each other that the U.S.-Russia relationship was so important and so broad that it could not be damaged,'' Albright said.

The two met over dinner during a meeting of Southeast Asian leaders and their Asian and Pacific partners.

Yugoslavia is a historic ally of Russia and many Russians still resent the NATO bombing campaign.

Ivanov said the airstrikes, which Russia strongly opposed, hurt the relationship. ``That is why we should redouble our efforts now that we have turned the corner,'' he said.

Asked if Russia would like to see someone other than Slobodan Milosevic in power, Ivanov said the Yugoslav people didn't ``need any prompting from the outside. They're capable of making up their own mind.''

He said Russia wants a stable relationship with the United States -- with no surprises.

The `hot line' between their private offices should help the two diplomats communicate quickly to avoid confusion and misunderstandings, both said.

At the conclusion of the conflict, for instance, the United States was caught off guard when Russian troops beat NATO forces into Kosovo, seizing control of the airport in the provincial capital of Pristina.

That led to a rocky period, with Russian and NATO sparring over the nature of the Russian peacekeeping component in Kosovo.

However, Albright suggested she was satisfied with the current role of the Russians and their level of participation.

``U.S. and Russian forces are serving side by side,'' she said.

Turning to arms control, Ivanov said members of Russian President Boris Yeltsin's government would redouble their efforts to try to persuade the Russian parliament to ratify the 1993 Start II treaty.

The treaty, already ratified by the U.S. Senate, would cut Russian and American nuclear stockpiles to a maximum of 3,000 warheads each.

The Duma, the lower house of the Russian parliament, was on the verge of taking it up in late 1998, but action was put off after the U.S. air campaigns against first Iraq and then Yugoslavia.

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Cold War-Era Hot Line Still in Place

By Anne Gearan Associated Press Writer Monday, July 26, 1999; 5:51 p.m. EDT

http://search.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/WAPO/19990726/V000568-072699-idx.html

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Born in the Cold War, the hot line connecting the leaders of the United States and the Soviet Union was instituted to defuse hostilities and misunderstandings that, in those tense days, could have led to nuclear war.

A parallel hot line announced Monday will link Secretary of State Madeleine Albright and her Russian counterpart, Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov.

Although the Cold War is past and the Soviet Union dissolved, the hot line linking the White House Situation Room and the Pentagon's National Military Command Center with the Kremlin is now regarded as a way to avert miscues between powerful sometime-allies.

``The hot line is important because it allows us to have open and direct dialogue at a moment's notice,'' National Security Council spokesman Mike Hammer said Monday. ``From a historical perspective, it was important if ever there was a misunderstanding,'' but current friendly relations between the United States and Russia ``do not command the need for use of the hot line for such a purpose,'' Hammer said.

It is not, as legend had it, a red telephone on the president's desk. It is not even a telephone link at all, but rather a satellite system that sends only written, coded text. The idea was that the written word is less open to misinterpretation than the human voice, and the very act of writing might serve to cool tempers on both sides.

``It allows us to basically write everything down and translate it, so there's no room for misunderstanding,'' said Pentagon spokesman Lt. Col. Vic Warzinski.

The hourly tests of the hot line are an obscure diplomatic duet that recall the link's roots in mutual mistrust. Careful to avoid anything political or controversial, the two countries have traded coded pointers on golf, travel, cuisine or other safe subjects.

Known formally as the U.S.-Soviet Direct Communications Link for Crisis Control, the original hot line was a child of the confusion and high-stakes tension of the 1962 Cuban missile crisis.

A rattled President John F. Kennedy wanted a direct link to Moscow instead of having to rely on intermediaries to ferry information, as they did during the 13-day missile standoff. On Aug. 30, 1963, the hot line was installed.

It has been used in a handful of crises -- the first time on June 5, 1967. In that transmission, President Lyndon Johnson assured Soviet Premier Alexei Kosygin that the United States was not involved in what would become the Six-Day War in the Mideast.

Originally, it was two Teletype machines linked by cables and telegraph lines. There was a radio circuit for backup.

The modern version uses satellites. The two countries agreed to a further modernization in 1985, with the addition of the then-new fax technology. That meant whole documents, maps and other graphic information could be sent back and forth.

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Russians Urge US to Lift Launch Ban

Monday, July 26, 1999; 12:01 p.m. EDT

http://search.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/WAPO/19990726/V000311-072699-idx.html

MOSCOW (AP) -- A top Russian space official urged the U.S. administration today to lift quotas on launches of American satellites by Russian booster rockets.

The quotas amount to ``outright discrimination against Russia on the international space service market,'' said Anatoly Kiselov, the chief of the state-controlled Khrunichev State Space Research and Manufacturing Center.

Russia receives tens of millions of dollars for each of these launches -- a coveted revenue source for the cash-strapped government.

The Khrunichev company, which manufactures Proton booster rockets used to launch the U.S. satellites, stands to receive a large share of the revenues.

``Quite understandably, time was needed to see how Russia would behave on the market,'' Kiselyov said, according to the Interfax news agency. ``In the six years of operation, Russia has played fairly. We operate in a civilized way and our partners admit this.''

Russian Prime Minister Sergei Stepashin, who arrived in the United States Sunday, will raise the issue during his talks with Vice President Al Gore on Tuesday.

Earlier this year, the U.S. administration threatened to cut back or even eliminate the launches if the Russian government failed to stop leaks of nuclear and missile technologies to Iran. It has also imposed sanctions against Russian companies believed to be involved in shipping the sensitive know-how to Iran.

Russia has insisted that no such leaks had occurred and urged the U.S. administration to repeal the sanctions.

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Diplomat Viktor Posuvalyuk, 59, Dies Russia's Chief Mideast Peace Envoy

From News Services Monday, August 2, 1999; Page B06

http://search.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/WPlate/1999-08/02/055l-080299-idx.html

MOSCOW, Aug. 1-Viktor Posuvalyuk, 59, a Russian deputy foreign minister who was Moscow's chief Middle East envoy, died here Aug. 1. The cause of death was not disclosed.

Mr. Posuvalyuk was appointed deputy foreign minister in November 1994. Earlier that year, he was named President Boris Yeltsin's Middle East peace envoy, and in recent years, he has played a key role in negotiations with Iraq.

Vladimir Lukin, head of the international affairs committee in Russia's lower house of parliament, told Ekho Moskvy radio that he did not expect any radical changes in Russian policies toward the Middle East.

"There are several mature and serious people along with Viktor Posuvalyuk who know the Middle East region and who could assume his leadership in this area," Lukin said.

An expert in Middle Eastern affairs, Mr. Posuvalyuk joined the Soviet diplomatic corps in 1964. He served in embassies in Yemen, Iraq and Syria before becoming Russia's ambassador to Oman in 1988 and then to Iraq in 1990.

After returning to Moscow in 1992 to head the Foreign Ministry's Department of Africa and the Near East, he shuttled between Baghdad and Moscow in efforts to defuse several crises around Iraq and took part in negotiations to advance the Mideast peace process.

Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov discussed Middle East peace issues on Aug. 1 with Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat and Egyptian Foreign Minister Amr Moussa, a foreign ministry statement said.

The Arab officials voiced support for Russia to continue to play an active role in co-sponsoring a Middle East settlement, while Ivanov expressed readiness to support constructive dialogue, he said, without elaborating.

The conversations and Mr. Posuvalyuk's death come on the eve of a visit to Moscow by new Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak, expected to discuss peace prospects with Syria and concern about Russian nuclear technology leaking to Iran.

In his free time, Mr. Posuvalyuk wrote and performed songs, and in 1996, he cut a compact disc, NTV television reported.

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