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Press Release #11
March 9, 1998

The following is a summary of Russian Prime Minister's comments to reporters on his departure for the United States:

NO MISSILE OR NUCLEAR TECHNOLOGIES TRANSFERRED TO IRAN, RUSSIAN PREMIER SAYS:

Russian Prime Minister Viktor Chernomyrdin declared on Monday that Moscow had not transferred missile or nuclear technologies either to Iran or to any other country in violation of the existing international regimes.

"As regards nuclear technologies we shall never violate anything. We have not and will not transfer anything to Iran or other countries," Chernomyrdin reaffirmed when interviewed by journalists prior to his departure to the US to attend the tenth session of the Gore-Chernomyrdin Commission.

Chernomyrdin stressed that "provocative speculations [accusations of supply of nuclear technologies made against Russia] would not work and that they are useless." "We are certain that we are doing right as far as this is concerned and we shall not violate our obligations," Chernomyrdin said.

On Saturday, government spokesman Igor Shabdurasulov told Itar-Tass that proliferation of weapons of mass destruction and means of their delivery, including missile technologies, do not conform to Russia's national interests. The spokesman did not rule out that this subject might be raised again by the foreign mass media during the Russian Prime Minister's visit to the United States prompted by "forces who are seeking to distort the substance of contacts between Russia and Iran and thus to worsen US-Russian relations."

"We have stated repeatedly that Russia strictly abides by the policy of non-proliferation. Besides, Russia is continuously strengthening its mechanisms of control," Shabdurasulov stressed in Saturday's interview.

He reminded of the fact that earlier this year the Government of Russia had adopted new regulations that significantly strengthened the national export control regime for dual-use technologies.

Mr. Shabdurasulov said that strict compliance with the national and international non-proliferation regimes was one of the highest priorities for Russian special services and that they were instructed in a most decisive way, to prevent any "leaks from Russia of technologies, related to WMDs and their means of delivery, either through official or private channels."
March 9, 1997

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