Statement by the Press Secretary on Nuclear Security Cooperation with Russia

President Bush received the first progress report from a joint U.S.-Russia working group he established with President Putin in Bratislava to improve nuclear security cooperation to deal with one of the gravest threats we face- the danger that terrorists could gain access to nuclear material or weapons.

Since that time, the U.S.-Russia Senior Interagency Working Group on Nuclear Security Cooperation, co-chaired by Secretary of Energy Bodman and Federal Atomic Energy Agency Director Rumyantsev has examined ways to advance cooperation in five areas: (1) emergency response, (2) best practices, (3) security culture, (4) conversion of research reactors, and (5) nuclear security.

The report notes that the United and Russia have agreed to:

• Prioritized timelines to return fresh and spent highly-enriched uranium fuel from U.S.- and Russian-designed research reactors in third countries, and to convert these reactors to low-enriched uranium and to develop other alternative fuels;
• Developed a Joint Action Plan for security upgrades at Rosatom and Ministry of Defense facilities;
• Conduct bilateral workshops on sharing "best practices" and establishment of a "security culture" in September 2005;
• Undertake a tabletop exercise on emergency response to nuclear incidents in October 2005.

The Working Group is scheduled to report again on December 31, 2005.