#1
Bureaucracy holding up Russian weapons reduction program: Lugar
AFP
August 29, 2002
Moscow

US Senator Richard Lugar on Thursday conceded the United States and Russia were both running up against bureaucratic gridlock in trying to implement Washington's main program for ridding Russia of weapons of mass destruction.

Lugar, co-author of the so-called Nunn-Lugar program which he drafted with former Senator Sam Nunn and which since 1992 has involved the expenditure of some five billion dollars, met Russian Defense Minister Sergei Ivanov at the end of an eight-day Russian visit.

He said he was satisfied with a tour that took him to some of Russia's most secret military sites, noting that he had a "thoughtful discussion" with Ivanov and calling his trip "constructive." "I mentioned to the minister today the importance that President (George W.) Bush places in the Moscow Treaty," a nuclear disarmament agreement that Georgia Bush and Russian President Vladimir Putin signed during a May summit in Moscow.

The treaty is aimed at slashing by two-thirds both sides' nuclear arsenals over the coming 10 years.

Bush "believes, and I concur, that Russian-American relations are critically important for world peace, and to world stability in the present day."

Yet Lugar conceded that Washington's own bureaucracy -- and partial distrust that the Russian program was worth the costs to US taxpayers -- was slowing down the release of new funds aimed at eliminating Russia's nuclear weaponry, as well chemical and biological arsenals.

At 40,000 tonnes, Russia's chemical weapons arsenal is the world's largest.

"We also discussed the fact that in both of our countries sometimes we have problems with bureaucracy. I have problems in Washington ... so I must admit that we discussed all of our problems," Lugar told reporters after 90 minutes of talks with Ivanov.

The Russian defense minister for his part predicted fast-tracked passage by the US Congress and Russia's parliament of the May disarmament treaty, noting that relations between Russia and the United States were on the rise.

"We expect that both the United States and Russia will easily ratify this treaty. There is a great consensus in favor of ratification in both countries," said Ivanov.

He added that the two sides discussed a framework agreement approved by the Group of Seven leading industrialized nations, which tentavily approved a 20-billion-dollar program assisting in ridding Russia of its weapons of mass destruction.

"We discussed a mechanism for implementing this program. We had a very good opportunity of exchange opinion on how we can implement this program without impeding on the Nunn-Lugar plan," he said without going into further details.

Ivanov further confirmed that he and Russian Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov would visit Washington next month to discuss outstanding disputes between the two sides -- including the threat of a US attack on Iraq -- as well as bilateral relations.

BACK TO THE TOP    #220 CONTENTS    NEXT ARTICLE