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| International |
| Sen. Lugar: Russia Too Evasive Over Bioweapons |
| 2003-08-16 |
| Russia’s evasiveness about its biological weapons program could slow efforts to get U.S. money to destroy of its chemical weapon stockpiles, a U.S. Senator said Friday. Ooops. While Russia has made clear declarations about its chemical and nuclear stockpiles, ``still there is a sense of denial’’ surrounding biological programs,’’ said Sen. Richard Lugar, R-Ind., an architect of the Nunn-Lugar program to help the Soviet Union destroy and safeguard weapons of mass destruction. At a summit in June 2002, Russia’s partners in the Group of Eight pledged up to $20 billion over 10 years to help Russia dispose of its nuclear, biological and chemical arsenals. Lugar said it appears likely the planned $1 billion for the coming year will be included in the U.S. budget. But he said evasive behavior by Russian officials authorities over questions about biological weapons gives members of the U.S. Congress a reason to seek to block funds. ``The denials with regard to the biological situation offer an avenue where opponents of spending Nunn-Lugar money can say ’See, still, we really don’t know exactly,’’’ he said. The United States believes that Russia had four military biological facilities in the Soviet era, Lugar said. He said it’s not clear what exactly those facilities contain. Wonder if any of those four have had any recent, um, deliveries? Lugar cited problems he encountered on a visit last year, when a trip to one of the facilities was delayed when he was told his plane would not be allowed to land there. Eventually the flight was given clearance, but Lugar said he did not see the military personnel at the facility. Of the 44,000 tons of chemical weapons Russia says it possesses, just 440 tons have been destroyed, said Lugar. In contrast to our efforts, which are on schedule to be completed in 2007. The focus in efforts to destroy chemical weapons is a facility in the Ural Mountains city of Shchuchye, which Lugar, chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said is one of seven sites in Russia where they are stored. Lugar said the facility, under construction since March, should be completed in mid-2005 if there are no delays. He said Russian officials told him that the chemical weapons stored at Shchuchye, which are mostly shells containing nerve gas, would not be fully neutralized before 2012 - the current target date for the destruction of Russia’s entire chemical arsenal. U.S. aid for construction of the Shchuchye facility was halted last year after Russia failed to meet commitments for aid established by Congress, but was resumed early this year after Congress allowed President Bush to waive the requirements. Despite the difficulties, Lugar said it is counterproductive for U.S. lawmakers to demand full Russian compliance with all its commitments on weapons of mass destruction before allowing funding. ``It is not useful to set up conditions in which there has to be 100 percent compliance before we do anything,’’ he said. The U.S. administration wants Congress to grant the president the permanent authority to annually waive Russian compliance requirements both for assistance for the Shchuchye facility and broader aid under the Nunn-Lugar program. |
| Posted by:Steve White |
| #3 aren't there shelf-lifes on these weapons? I'd heard the chem weapons were highly corrosive, and bio can only be held so long. I wonder if the motives here are more monetary than nefarious? |
| Posted by: Frank G 2003-8-16 7:54:55 PM |
| #2 Yep, they can do anything with a potato except harvest 'em on time. |
| Posted by: Shipman 2003-8-16 9:04:12 AM |
| #1 But what those Russians can do to a potato is beyond believe. |
| Posted by: Lucky 2003-8-16 1:09:03 AM |