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17 September 2002

U.S., Russia Identify New Ways to Reduce Excess Nuclear Materials

(Joint Statement: U.S. Secretary of Energy, Russian Minister of Atomic
Energy) (470)
A group of Russian and American experts tasked by President Bush and
Russian President Vladimir Putin with finding ways to accelerate the
disposition of excess nuclear weapon materials has finished its report
three months ahead of schedule, U.S. Secretary of Energy Spencer
Abraham and Russian Minister of Atomic Energy Aleksandr Rumyantsev
disclosed in a joint statement September 16.
The group has identified a number of new areas in which joint
cooperation could reduce stocks of highly enriched uranium or dispose
of weapons-grade plutonium, say Abraham and Rumyantsev.
Following is the text of their joint statement:
(begin text)
Department of Energy
United States of America
September 16, 2002
Joint Statement: Secretary Abraham, Minister Rumyantsev
In their May 2002 Summit in Moscow, the President of the United States
of America George W. Bush and the President of the Russian Federation
V.V. Putin agreed to establish a joint experts group to work out
proposals on near- and long-term, bilateral and multilateral means to
reduce inventories of highly enriched uranium (HEU) and plutonium. The
United States and Russia recognize their common interest in
guaranteeing the irreversibility of nuclear disarmament, strengthening
nonproliferation, and combating terrorism by accelerating the
disposition of excess nuclear weapon materials.
Ambassador Linton Brooks and First Deputy Minister Mikhail Solonin
co-chaired the Expert Group on Accelerated Nuclear Material
Disposition. We highly appreciate the results of the Expert Group. We
are pleased with the accelerated pace the group maintained, finishing
the report three months earlier than their initial deadline. The
report will be forwarded to Presidents George W. Bush and V.V. Putin.
The Expert Group identified several areas where joint cooperation
could lead to reduction of HEU over-and-above commitments already in
place under existing agreements. These include:
1. Creation of a strategic reserve in the United States from Russian
HEU down blended into Low Enriched Uranium (LEU);
2. Increase in the rate and quantity of HEU converted to LEU under the
Nuclear Material Consolidation and Conversion Project;
3. Use of LEU down blended from Russian HEU to fuel reactors in
Western countries;
4. Use of Russian HEU to fuel selected United States research
reactors, until cores are converted to LEU, and
5. In parallel, work on accelerated development of LEU fuel for both
Soviet-designed and United States-designed research reactors.
The Expert Group also identified potential new areas of near-term
cooperation for weapon plutonium disposition. These include:
1. Fabrication of additional mixed oxide fuel (MOX) for use in Russian
reactors, utilizing additional weapons-grade plutonium under the 2000
Agreement, and
2. A variation of this scenario that would provide for the possible
use of some MOX fuel in Russia and for leasing or exporting of the
remainder for use in other countries.
The Expert Group will continue to study additional options that could
be relevant in the future, taking into account their technical
feasibility, impacts on commercial nuclear fuel market industries and
required financial resources.
(end text)
(Distributed by the Office of International Information Programs, U.S.
Department of State. Web site: http://usinfo.state.gov)