April 24, 1998

PRESS BRIEFING BY MIKE MCCURRY

                           THE WHITE HOUSE

                    Office of the Press Secretary
______________________________________________________________
For Immediate Release                                April 24, 1998     


	     
                         PRESS BRIEFING BY 
                            MIKE MCCURRY 
	     
	     
                        The Briefing Room    			     


1:58 P.M. EDT
	     
	     
	     MR. MCCURRY: ..............
	     
	     Next, we put out some paper earlier today, but I wanted 
to make sure I called it to your attention, on Operation Auburn 
Endeavor.  Operation Auburn Endeavor, as you know, is a close effort 
in cooperation with the government of Georgia and the United Kingdom 
to complete the removal of about five kilograms of highly enriched 
uranium from Georgia to the United Kingdom.  That operation reflects 
the continued commitment of all three governments to international 
security and nonproliferation goals that we share in the 
international community.  It's the latest in a series of 
international efforts to safeguard surplus nuclear materials.
	     
	     The U.S. Departments of Energy, Defense and State will 
work very closely together and with the other related governments to 
secure and transport the material from Georgia to safe storage at a 
site in the United Kingdom and to ensure the integrity of the 
mission, the safety of the personnel, we maintain very strict 
security measures during the course of that operation, which is why 
we were reluctant to comment on it publicly until it was completed.  
We very much appreciate the assistance and cooperation of the 
government of the United Kingdom, especially with respect to 
preserving the operational security of the mission.  
	     
	     The U.S. role in this project, by the way, was made 
possible in part by the support of the United States Congress for the 
cooperation of threat reduction program and other nonproliferation 
programs.  And Operation Endeavor is a powerful, positive example of 
how countries can cooperate in practical ways to lessen the dangers 
of nuclear proliferation.
	     

	     Q	  You're saying Georgian Endeavor -- that is the name 
of the operation?
	     
	     MR. MCCURRY:  Operation Auburn Endeavor.
	     
	     Q	  That's what I thought you said --
	     
	     MR. MCCURRY:  Auburn Endeavor.
	     
	     Q	  Isn't there a movie on this, moving nuclear 
material?
	     
	     MR. MCCURRY:  There has been previous stories of this 
nature.  You will recall Operation Sapphire which, in a similar way, 
we removed from Kazakhstan highly enriched uranium and transported it 
here to the United States in a similar effort to further our 
nonproliferation objectives.  This is good news that we are happy to 
share.  


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