Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD)

Moscow, July ITAR-TASS. Nikolai Kovalev, Director of the federal Security Service (FSB) of the Russian federation considers inadmissible attempts by some Russian businessman and officials to bypass the existing restrictions on export of sensitive technologies. he stated this in today's interview to an ITAR-TASScorrespondent in which he raised issues of export control.
In particular, he pointed out that "on the part of Russian businessmen and officials there is still a lack of perception of the need to comply with certain regulations designated to prevent leakage of materials and technologies which might be used to manufacture weapons of mass destruction and there delivery means".
Nikolai Kovalev underscored the FSB in accordance with the law and under instructions from the President works hard to prevent leaks of "sensitive technologies" and "not only those indicated in the lists of international regimes but on a much broader scale.

"We have foiled and frustrated unauthorized activities of a group of specialist from the Moscow Aviation Institute who participated in a Research on missile technologies," reminded the FBS Director.
"Investigation of a criminal case of smuggling a large shipment of alloy steel to Iran seized in Azerbaijan is underway. Three Tadjik citizens who temporarily resided in Moscow have been arrested. the mastermind of the criminal group, an Iranian citizen Ali Mazidi Muhammedi is currently in Iran."
According to Kovalev, FSB initiated termination of a scientific exchange program between the Baltic State Technical University (Saint Petersburg's "Voenmech") and the Iranian company "Sanam". Activities of this company on the Russian territory, according to him, are prohibited as posing a threat to Russian's national interests. this was a result of concerted actions of FBS and the Ministry of Education, said Nikolai Kovalev, who reminded of a recent statement on the issue by Aleksandr Tikhonov, the Russian Minister of Education.
In april this year a court of law sentenced two officials from a defence-related scientific research institute in the city of Tula who attempted to close a deal with a company of one of the CIS countries to develop electronic missle homing equipment "supposedly in the interests of a third country". "A russian citizen, who attempted to take abroad samples of "Dual-use" materials has been arrested in Saint Petersburg."
Nikolai Kovalev said that "sometimes such crimes are committed through ignorance of the existing regulations (which, as it is known, is no waiver of liability), but occasionally some directors of enterprises, especially those experiencing difficult economic situations, makes attempts at circumventing restrictions in order to ease their difficulties."
This was the case with the Tikhomirov Instrument-Building Scientific and Research Institute as well as the Komintern factory of documentation (with the mediator services of a third country company) to Iran via Tadjikistan, indicating the latter as the final point of their journey in there travel documents. "These activities have been curtailed", Mr. Kovalev underscored.
The FBS Director warned that those who wish to obtain :sensitive technologies" by every means possible were being used yet more sophisticated methods, "however FBS also prefects its activities". Mr Kovalev pointed out, that the Russian special services have recently become more active in their interactions over the issues of nonproliferation within the framework of the Russian security Council system.
"This yields good results," he said. "FBS supports adoption of a special law "On Export controls" that would introduce the principles of "catch-all controls" which are a common practise in other G-8 countries. "As of now, for sake of Russia's interests we are bound to introduce these principles "de facto" while sometimes having to deal with significant loopholes in the legislations."

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