THE WHITE HOUSE

Office of the Press Secretary

               REPORT OF SEPTEMBER PRESUMMIT MEETINGS ON
                      U.S.-RUSSIAN SECURITY ISSUES

In preparation for the September 27-28 meetings between Presidents Clinton and Yeltsin, U.S. and Russian officials met to address security issues of mutual concern.

They discussed a range of security issues that could be addressed in a joint statement on strategic stability and nuclear security by the two Presidents, and reached agreement on a number of additional steps beyond those identified for inclusion in the summit joint statement.

Underlying the steps identified in the summit joint statement to enhance nuclear security, the officials reached agreement on the following additional concrete steps:

Follow up the call in the Chairman's statement from the July 10, 1994 Naples meeting of eight heads of state for cooperation to prevent nuclear smuggling. They look forward to convening the non-proliferation experts group of these countries to consult on common efforts to halt smuggling. The United States and Russia agreed on the desirability of cooperative efforts directed toward combating potential criminal acts or possible incidents of terrorism involving nuclear weapons or materials.

Use the IAEA as one means for cooperation among nuclear and regulatory authorities on nuclear materials physical protection, control and accounting.

The United States and Russia are cooperating on materials control and accounting. They will develop priorities for further cooperation on materials control and accounting for fissile materials. The sides will explore the extension of cooperation to military materials.

The United States will make available specific material control and physical protection equipment to Russia for testing under Russian conditions. First demonstrations of this equipment will occur at the Mayak civilian plutonium storage facility in 1994.

Regarding the deepened cooperation in the area of nuclear security between the U.S. Department of Defense and the Russian Ministry of Defense, the U.S. has proposed a confidential exchange of information on both countries' aggregate weapons stockpiles, weapons retirements, and dismantlement schedules and rates, and possible cooperation to help strengthen security of nuclear weapons and materials under defense control.

In conjunction with the joint plan for the fissile material storage facility at Mayak, Russia will break ground in the first half of 1995. The United States will deliver up to USD 75 million in assistance as previously agreed, as Russia allocates necessary funds to implement the plan. The United States has agreed in principle to consider additional assistance in this area.

The United States and Russia are determined to improve confidence in and increase the transparency and irreversibility of the process of reducing nuclear weapons. In order to achieve this goal, the joint working group on nuclear safeguards, transparency and irreversibility, beginning by March 1995, taking into account a realistic assessment of technical and economic factors, will:

• Define options to make transfers of fissile materials from weapons to non-weapons purposes irreversible;
• Consider options for an exchange of data on inventories of fissile materials removed from dismantled warheads;
• Examine options for reciprocal inspections of storage facilities containing plutonium and highly-enriched uranium removed from nuclear weapons; and
• Address special safeguards problems related to the cut-off of production of fissile materials and the feasibility and specific methods for placing fissile materials released as a result of the disarmament process under IAEA safeguards.

The joint working group will report on its progress at the next summit meeting.

Following up on the January 14, 1994 Memorandum of Intent between the Governments of the U.S. and Russia on Cooperation in the Area of Export Control, the United States and Russia will cooperate to enhance the effectiveness of export controls. The United States will provide up to USD 2.26 million in support for this effort.

The United States welcomes Russia's intent to join the Missile Technology Control Regime and, at the October 1994 plenary, will promote its membership. The sides welcome the implementation of the September 1993 memorandum on missilerelated exports.

On other issues, they agreed:

The U.S./Russia/UK working group on biological weapons will meet in early October to address the completion of a document on implementation of the September 1992 Trilateral Statement, past BW programs and arrangements for full implementation of the 1992 Trilateral Statement, including visits to military biological facilities in all three countries.

U.S. and Russian experts will meet in early October with a view to resolving outstanding issues with respect to bringing into force the Bilateral Destruction Agreement and implementation of the Wyoming MOU.

The sides recognized the major changes in the area of security on the European continent. They also agreed that the states-parties to the Treaty on Conventional Forces in Europe should accelerate the search for a balanced solution to the CFE flank zones issue, while maintaining the viability and integrity of the CFE Treaty.

The important contribution that the Open Skies Treaty can make to building confidence and enhancing transparency and the desirability of the Treaty's entry-into-force as soon as possible.

The need to combat the global humanitarian problem of antipersonnel land mines (APLs). Russia will consider practical questions related to the implementation of a moratorium similar to that announced by the United States on the export of APLs.

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