08 September 1998
(Informs CD of U.S.-Russian Initiative on Plutonium) (1100) Geneva -- The United States believes the agreement on the management of plutonium announced by Presidents Clinton and Yeltsin in Moscow last week should add impetus to talks at the Conference on Disarmament (CD) aimed at halting the production of fissile material for nuclear weapons. Ambassador Robert T. Grey Jr., U.S. representative to the Conference on Disarmament, said the new agreement goes beyond previous bilateral initiatives to cease the production of highly-enriched uranium and plutonium for use in nuclear weapons. Grey spoke before the Conference on the final day of its 1998 session. Last month, after a long stalemate on the issue, the CD established a committee to begin negotiating a fissile material cutoff treaty (FMCT) which would ban the production of fissile material for nuclear weapons or other nuclear explosive devices. Grey told the CD that the new agreement between the U.S. and the Russian Federation means that each country will remove by stages approximately 50 metric tons of plutonium from its nuclear weapons program and convert it so it can never again be used in nuclear weapons. "To put this initiative in perspective, the agreement covers nearly 50 percent of total U.S. holdings of such plutonium," he said. "U.S. and Russian experts have been directed to begin negotiations promptly with the goal of completing a detailed bilateral agreement by the end of this year.... The steps the United States and Russian Federation have outlined and the resulting transparency should add impetus to our collective efforts in the Conference next year to negotiate a fissile material cutoff treaty." Following is the text, as prepared for delivery, of the September 8 statement by Ambassador Robert T. Grey, Jr, United States Representative to the Conference on Disarmament: (Begin text) Mr. President, May I first of all take this opportunity to bid farewell to our colleague, Ambassador Krasnohorska of Slovakia. I have greatly enjoyed working with you, Ambassador, and you have my every good wish for success in the future. Mr. President, Today I want to formally inform you and other CD colleagues about the agreements my government concluded with the Russian Federation last week during the meeting between our two presidents in Moscow. Among the historic accords are four that bear directly on the international community's collective efforts to move forward toward disarmament and non-proliferation objectives. I believe that these bold initiatives will serve to stimulate progress in this Conference, as we seek to negotiate agreements that will make our world safer, more secure, and more stable. Management and Disposition of Plutonium Mr. President, the United States and the Russian Federation issued a Joint Statement of Principles dealing with the important issue of managing and reducing stockpiles of plutonium for weapons. Measures to manage and reduce such stockpiles are an essential element of irreversible reductions in nuclear arms, in part to ensure that these nuclear materials do not become a proliferation risk. Under this agreement each country will remove by stages approximately 50 metric tons of plutonium from its nuclear weapons program. Each will then convert this material so that it can never again be used in nuclear weapons. Mr. President, to put this initiative in perspective, the agreement covers nearly 50 percents of total U.S. holdings of such plutonium. U.S. and Russian experts have been directed to begin negotiations promptly with the goal of completing a detailed bilateral agreement by the end of this year. Such an agreement would lay out the timetable and a number of details necessary to carry out this very ambitious program. Our two countries will seek to develop acceptable methods and technology for transparency, including appropriate international verification measures and stringent standards of physical protection, control, and accounting for the management of plutonium. The United States and the Russian Federation fully expect that the comprehensive effort for the management and disposition of this plutonium will be a broad-based, multilateral one. Both countries welcome close cooperation and coordination with other countries. I want to emphasize, Mr. President, that this agreement goes beyond previous bilateral initiatives announced in 1995 and 1997 to cease the production of highly-enriched uranium and plutonium for use in nuclear weapons. The steps the United States and Russian Federation have outlined and the resulting transparency should add impetus to our collective efforts in the Conference next year to negotiate a fissile material cutoff treaty. Ballistic Missile Launch Data Mr. President, in order to minimize further the disastrous consequences that would result from the launching of missiles based on the false warning of a missile attack, the two presidents also signed an agreement committing the United States and Russia to exchange information on launches of ballistic missiles and space-launch vehicles on a continuous basis. As part of this initiative, we have agreed to examine the possibility of establishing a multilateral pre-launch notification regime for ballistic missile and space vehicle launches. This latest agreement follows in the tradition of other important U.S.-Russian strategic stability measures -- including the Washington-Moscow hot line, the nuclear risk reduction centers, and the detargeting accord. It will allow the world to move one more important step back from the nuclear precipice of the Cold War and will help make it safer. Biological Weapons Convention Mr. President, in an effort to add momentum to the work of the Ad Hoc Group of States Parties to the Biological Weapons Convention, the two presidents also issued a joint statement last week expressing strong support for the legally binding Protocol being negotiated to strengthen the Convention. They urged the further intensification and successful conclusion of the negotiations so that the Protocol can be adopted as soon as possible. Non-Proliferation Export Controls Finally, Mr. President, in an effort to strengthen the international non-proliferation regime, the two presidents announced as part of a Joint Statement on Common Security Challenges at the Threshold of the Twenty-First Century their commitment to cooperate further on export controls, especially those focused on the technologies and delivery means for weapons of mass destruction. For example, the U.S. and Russia will establish expert groups on nuclear matters, missile and space technology, and conventional weapons, as well as dedicated communications to facilitate the rapid exchange of information. Fact Sheets Mr. President, my delegation is working with the Russian delegation to submit texts and fact sheets on these initiatives and agreements later in the week to become official CD documents. Thank you, Mr. President. (End text)