The White House Briefing Room

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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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