28 April 1998
[EXCERPTS] TRANSCRIPT: STATE DEPARTMENT NOON BRIEFING, APRIL 28
DEPARTMENT OF STATE OFF-CAMERA BRIEFING INDEX Tuesday, April 28, l998 Briefer: James B. Foley ............ IRAN / RUSSIA / AZERBAIJAN 2-3 Azeri interception of steel alloy shipment; US contact with Russia; Russia arrests suspects, begins investigation; material usable for liquid-propellant missiles 3-4 Russia ability to control sensitive materials, meet arms control requirements 3-4 Russian role in Iran missile program ............... Q: On another issue, we forgot to ask you yesterday about a report that 22 tons of stainless steel was caught just about as it was to cross into Iran, and this steel apparently was a specialized kind useful in building missile tanks. One, can you confirm that? And, two, can you confirm that the United States did raise alarms about it, but the Russians acted tardily, if at all? MR. FOLEY: Well, this is not a new story. On April 7th, the Russian Federal Security Service announced that it had arrested three people who were involved in attempting to export steel alloy to Iran. As far as the United States Government itself is concerned, we were informed by Azerbaijan on March 25th that their customs officials had detained a shipment of steel at the Azerbaijan-Iran border because the shipping documents were not in order. The material described in the shipping documents apparently did not match the cargo that was found. This was a shipment transiting Azerbajian from Russia. The US Government analyzed a sample of the cargo and determined that it is a type of stainless steel suitable for use in the production of liquid propellant missiles. The US Government asked the government of Azerbaijan to detain the shipment for further investigation. We shared the results of our own inquiry with both the governments of Azerbaijan and Russia, and as I said, the Russians subsequently announced that they had arrested several person who apparently were involved in this shipment. In terms of your question about Russia's activities in this regard, we are pleased that they have made these arrests and that they're undertaking an investigation. But I am not aware of the details of the level of cooperation that existed prior to the - prior to the actual arrest at the Azerbaijani-Iran border. Q: Well, did the original alert come from the United States? MR. FOLEY: I'm not aware of that. I am aware that we were informed by the Azerbaijanis on March 25th that the shipment had arrived at the border. But I can't get into our private diplomatic exchanges on this. Q: Does this incident give you any pause for thought about Russian attempts in general at controlling the export of such material? MR. FOLEY: Well, there was a news article, I think that you're referring to, I believe over the weekend that cast some doubt on Russian capabilities in this regard. I don't believe that we have drawn that judgment ourselves. Obviously, we are cooperating intensively with Russia on the whole issue of cooperation with Iran in the missile field and in other fields. We believe, in fact, that we have made significant progress in this area over the last few months. So I wouldn't want to draw judgments that I don't believe our experts have made on this particular case. We, as I said, are pleased that they have launched an investigation. They have made some arrests in this connection. On this same subject? Q: On the subject. MR. FOLEY: Yes. Q: Okay, there was Mr. Timmerman's article I believe in The New York Times that basically said that the Russians are still aiding the Iranians in their missile program, and that Iran does not perceive that this - or excuse me - that Russia does not perceive that this issue is a high priority issue with the United States. We are not taking it as seriously as we might. Can you respond to those allegations? MR. FOLEY: Well, first I can reject the allegation that the United States Government does not treat this as the high priority that it is. Proliferation of weapons of mass destruction is, perhaps, our number one priority in the world, certainly security priority. Proliferation to states that do not have a record of responsible actions in the international arena is a particular concern to us. Secondly, the characterization of Russian attitudes I would challenge. The fact of the matter is that beginning with the Gore-Chernomyrdin Commission over the last two years, we've seen the Russians increasingly coming to grips with this issue. I think it is a difficult issue, obviously, to monitor on their side, as well. But we believe that we have a commitment to make this a priority on their part. We have seen this reflected in various actions recently. The article that you mention notes - and then casts doubt on the arrest and expulsion of an Iranian who was involved in Iran's illicit procurement effort. Our information is that he was, indeed, expelled from the country. Second, you saw earlier this year that Russia established a so-called "catch-all" authority putting into place a new authority to stop transfers of the full range of goods and services to programs of weapons of mass destruction and foreign missile programs. This decree is now in force. We have been meeting regularly with the Russians, first in the Wisner-Koptev channel - now, Ambassador Gallucci has taken the helm of that effort and met recently in Moscow with his counterparts. We believe there has been important progress. But we don't believe we can claim that the work is over. Far from it. More important work remains to be done. Q: So you're saying that perhaps the Russians are still aiding the Iranians in their missile program? MR. FOLEY: Well, as I said, we believe important work remains to be done. We don't believe that the file is closed, if you will.. ................. .......... (end transcript)
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