ACCESSION NUMBER:00000

FILE ID:95092809.TXT

DATE:09/28/95

TITLE:28-09-95  CLINTON DIRECTIVE AIMS TO FURTHER REDUCE NUCLEAR THREAT



TEXT:

(Text: White House statement) (450)



Washington -- The United States will work with Russia and the other

states of the former Soviet Union to "deepen our cooperation to reduce

the risk of illicit transfers of nuclear weapons...to states or

terrorists," the White House said September 28.



Press Secretary Mike McCurry, in a written statement, said President

Clinton has issued a directive calling for "concrete steps to deepen

and accelerate our cooperation with the FSU to protect, control and

account for nuclear materials; to continue our joint efforts to assure

the security of nuclear weapons themselves; and to increase the

integration of our diplomatic, law enforcement and intelligence

efforts."



Following is the text of the White House statement:



(begin text)



Today, the United States is taking another step to reduce the nuclear

threat. The president has directed his administration to launch an

accelerated plan to improve the security of nuclear materials. Working

with Russia and the other states of the former Soviet Union, we will

deepen out cooperation to reduce the risk of illicit transfers of

nuclear weapons, fissile materials, and other dangerous nuclear and

radioactive substances to states or terrorists.



Even as the threat of nuclear war recedes, we must confront the urgent

challenge of ensuring that nuclear weapons and materials do not fall

into the wrong hands. For that reason, President Clinton has made the

security of nuclear materials a matter of the highest priority.

Already we have achieved an unprecedented level of direct cooperation

among our governments. U.S. nuclear material security experts are now

working closely with their counterparts at more than two dozen sites

across the former Soviet Union to identify and remedy potential

weaknesses in systems designed to protect nuclear materials. These

efforts complement other initiatives to increase nuclear material

security -- such as the shipment of highly-enriched uranium out of

Kazakhstan for safekeeping under Operation Sapphire; the transfer of

nuclear weapons from Ukraine to Russia for dismantlement; and the

agreement with Russia under which 500 metric tons of highly-enriched

uranium from nuclear warheads are already being converted to much

safer low-enriched uranium fuel for electricity production in civilian

nuclear reactors.



The directive we are issuing today calls for concrete steps to deepen

and accelerate our cooperation with the FSU to protect, control and

account for nuclear materials; to continue our joint efforts to assure

the security of nuclear weapons themselves; and to increase the

integration of our diplomatic, law enforcement and intelligence

efforts.



Working together, we are reducing the nuclear danger we all face and

making the lives of the American people, and people around the world,

safer.



(end text)

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