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G8 clinches deal to decommission ex-Soviet arms
By Ron Popeski
CALGARY, Alberta, June 27 (Reuters) - The Group of Eight rich nations clinched a $20 billion deal on Thursday to help Russia rid itself of weapons of mass destruction and keep the raw materials for nuclear bombs out of the wrong hands.
The United States hailed the deal, which it had been promoting for weeks, as a major step forward in implementing President George W. Bush's war on terrorism.
A statement issued by leaders of the eight countries said up to $20 billion would be raised over 10 years, initially for Russia and later for other ex-Soviet states, to prevent militant groups seizing control of arms and nuclear materials.
The program, dubbed "the G8 Global Partnership," would help destroy chemical weapons, dismantle aging reactors aboard decommissioned nuclear-powered submarines and dispose of fissile materials. It would also find work for arms scientists frequently cast into post-Soviet poverty.
But the statement provided no details on the proportion of funds to be raised by other G8 members -- Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan and the United States. And it set down few details on concrete program.
U.S. National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice described the deal, struck at the G8 summit in the Canadian Rockies as "a very important initiative, and we're delighted to get it done.
"So, in the area of terrorism and weapons of mass destruction, the president's agenda was moved forward substantially," she told a news conference.
The statement called for observance of principles of non-proliferation and pledged support for "specific cooperation projects, initially in Russia, to address non-proliferation, disarmament, counter-terrorism and nuclear safety issues."
"We will commit to raise up to $20 billion to support such projects over the next 10 years," it said, noting that a range of financing options were open to members, including forgiving Russian debt and applying the funds to the program.
There was no specific reference in the statement to the U.S. proposal of recent weeks for the United States to raise $10 billion for the program, with a further $10 billion to come from other countries.
WASHINGTON EXPECTS EFFORTS BY OTHERS
Rice said the draft reflected the fact that the initiative was new "and that countries are going to have to go back and make commitments." The United States, she said, had already committed its promised share and expected there would be "a strong effort by others to match that."
Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi announced the package as a done deal on Wednesday, but countries then worked deep into the night to hammer out final details.
The United States has expressed concern at proliferation of nuclear materials passing into the hands of militant groups or "rogue states" like Iran, Iraq or North Korea.
U.S. delegations given free rein to visit Russian military facilities have spoken of the urgent need to provide extra help to make safe reactors being removed from decommissioned submarines and other sites.
Russia has also said it is finding it hard to meet internationally agreed deadlines to destroy chemical weapons.
A set of guidelines appended to the G8 statement said Russia "maintains primary responsibility for implementing its obligations and requirements" under the deal.
It said G8 could undertake negotiations with "with any other recipient countries, including those of the former Soviet Union, prepared to adopt the guidelines ."
A mechanism would be created to examine each year progress made in implementing the program and its projects.
(Additional reporting by David Ljunggren)
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