For Immediate Release
Office of the Press Secretary
November 13, 2001

Fact Sheet
U.S. Government Nonproliferation and Threat Reduction Assistance to the Russian Federation

The United States is committed to strong, effective cooperation with Russia and the other states emerging from the former Soviet Union to reduce weapons of mass destruction and prevent the proliferation of these weapons or the material and expertise to develop them.  The importance of that cooperation has long been recognized, and is underscored by the tragic events of September 11.

The U.S. Government currently conducts over 30 different cooperative programs with Russia in this area, with a total appropriation from Fiscal Year 1992 through Fiscal Year 2001 of approximately $4 billion.  Another important cooperative endeavor in this area is U.S. purchase of material blended down from Russian highly-enriched uranium from dismantled nuclear warheads, for use in civilian nuclear reactor fuel.

Principal elements of the multifaceted U.S. nonproliferation and threat reduction assistance to Russia include:

-    Reduction of strategic nuclear delivery vehicles, including intercontinental ballistic missiles and silos, ballistic missile-carrying submarines, submarine-launched ballistic missiles, and heavy bombers;

-    Support for safe and secure transport of nuclear warheads to dismantlement;

-    Reduction of weapons-usable material from dismantled nuclear warheads;

-    Increased security for storage of nuclear warheads, chemical weapons, and biological materials; and

-    Provision of alternative, peaceful employment for Russian scientists previously employed in nuclear, chemical or biological weapons programs.

The Administration is nearing completion of a detailed review of these programs, designed to ensure that existing efforts serve priority threat reduction and nonproliferation goals, as efficiently and effectively as possible, and to examine new initiatives to further those goals.

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