ACCESSION NUMBER:00000
FILE ID:95092809.TXT
DATE:09/28/95
TITLE:28-09-95 CLINTON DIRECTIVE AIMS TO FURTHER REDUCE NUCLEAR THREAT
TEXT:
(Text: White House statement) (450)
Washington -- The United States will work with Russia and the other
states of the former Soviet Union to "deepen our cooperation to reduce
the risk of illicit transfers of nuclear weapons...to states or
terrorists," the White House said September 28.
Press Secretary Mike McCurry, in a written statement, said President
Clinton has issued a directive calling for "concrete steps to deepen
and accelerate our cooperation with the FSU to protect, control and
account for nuclear materials; to continue our joint efforts to assure
the security of nuclear weapons themselves; and to increase the
integration of our diplomatic, law enforcement and intelligence
efforts."
Following is the text of the White House statement:
(begin text)
Today, the United States is taking another step to reduce the nuclear
threat. The president has directed his administration to launch an
accelerated plan to improve the security of nuclear materials. Working
with Russia and the other states of the former Soviet Union, we will
deepen out cooperation to reduce the risk of illicit transfers of
nuclear weapons, fissile materials, and other dangerous nuclear and
radioactive substances to states or terrorists.
Even as the threat of nuclear war recedes, we must confront the urgent
challenge of ensuring that nuclear weapons and materials do not fall
into the wrong hands. For that reason, President Clinton has made the
security of nuclear materials a matter of the highest priority.
Already we have achieved an unprecedented level of direct cooperation
among our governments. U.S. nuclear material security experts are now
working closely with their counterparts at more than two dozen sites
across the former Soviet Union to identify and remedy potential
weaknesses in systems designed to protect nuclear materials. These
efforts complement other initiatives to increase nuclear material
security -- such as the shipment of highly-enriched uranium out of
Kazakhstan for safekeeping under Operation Sapphire; the transfer of
nuclear weapons from Ukraine to Russia for dismantlement; and the
agreement with Russia under which 500 metric tons of highly-enriched
uranium from nuclear warheads are already being converted to much
safer low-enriched uranium fuel for electricity production in civilian
nuclear reactors.
The directive we are issuing today calls for concrete steps to deepen
and accelerate our cooperation with the FSU to protect, control and
account for nuclear materials; to continue our joint efforts to assure
the security of nuclear weapons themselves; and to increase the
integration of our diplomatic, law enforcement and intelligence
efforts.
Working together, we are reducing the nuclear danger we all face and
making the lives of the American people, and people around the world,
safer.
(end text)
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