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Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD)

DATE=8/14/2000
TYPE=CORRESPONDENT REPORT
TITLE=U.S. - RUSSIAN SUB (L)
NUMBER=2-265462
BYLINE=DAVID GOLLUST
DATELINE=LOS ANGELES
CONTENT=
VOICED AT:
INTRO:  President Clinton has been briefed on the 
plight of the sunken Russian submarine, and the United 
States is offering Russia help in the recovery effort. 
U-S officials say there's no indication an American 
navy vessel collided with the Russian sub. VOA's David 
Gollust reports from Los Angeles where Mr. Clinton is 
attending the Democratic national convention.
TEXT:  The President was briefed on the situation with 
the submarine, following a telephone conversation 
between White House National Security Adviser Sandy 
Berger and the Secretary of the Russian Security 
Council, Sergei Ivanov.  
Clinton spokesman Joe Lockhart says Moscow has been 
told the United States is prepared to render any help 
it can in the recovery effort, but thus far there has 
been no such Russian request: 
            /// LOCKHART ACTUALITY ///
      We through various channels have made clear to 
      the Russians that any assistance we can offer is 
      available. That offer was reiterated in a 
      previously-scheduled phone call Mr. Berger had 
      with his counterpart Mr. Ivanov. And at this
      point, there's been no request for our 
      assistance. We are following this closely and 
      if the Russians are in position where they 
      believe we can offer some assistance, we will
      do that.
            /// END ACT ///
Both Mr. Lockhart and officials at the Pentagon say 
there is no information to suggest that a U-S 
submarine or surface vessel had been involved in a 
collision with the Russian submarine. 
U-S navy ships routinely monitor Russian naval 
exercises, and defense officials say an American 
electronic surveillance ship was operating in or near 
the Barents sea at the time of the incident - though 
they say it was far from the area where the submarine 
went down.
It is unclear - as a practical matter - what kind of 
help the U-S navy could render in this case. 
The navy has a deep-diving rescue vessel designed to 
bring the crew of a sunken U-S or allied submarine to 
the surface - even from depths far below the level 
where the disabled Russian submarine is reported to be 
resting.
However the system has never been used in an actual 
rescue situation, and U-S officials say they are 
unsure whether the hatches of the American undersea 
vehicle would be compatible with those of a Russian 
submarine.
The system was developed after a U-S nuclear submarine 
- the Thesher - sank in the North Atlantic in 1963 
with the loss of all 129 crewmen aboard. (Signed)
NEB/DAG/TVM/KBK
14-Aug-2000 18:21 PM EDT (14-Aug-2000 2221 UTC)
NNNN
Source: Voice of America
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