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Russia I: U.S. Doubts Keep Destruction Funds Frozen By Anne Marie Pecha “There is information available to us that suggests there are stockpiles that have not been declared,” said a Bush administration official. “This is a concern that the Russians need to address.” According to the 2002 Defense Authorization Act enacted in December, the United States is withholding all chemical weapon nonproliferation aid to Russia — currently $50 million — until Pentagon officials can certify that Russia has met certain requirements, including disclosing the “full and accurate” size of its existing chemical weapons stockpile (see GSN, Feb. 1). Although Sergei Kiriyenko, chairman of the Russian state commission for chemical disarmament, told the Russian Nezavisimaya Gazeta that Russia has declared all of its weapons because “understatement of supplies would imply a smaller sum of assistance,” the United States is not buying that argument, the administration official said (see GSN, Feb. 4). “Our concerns are a little bit different,” the official said. “We want to make sure the Russians understand the seriousness of this and are prepared to show greater transparency.” In February, both Kiriyenko and U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell had expressed hope that Russia would meet U.S. conditions this spring. “I think we finally got the certification cleared up,” Powell said during testimony before the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee. “I assured Mr. Kiriyenko that I think we’re almost there, and that will release $50 million” (see GSN, Feb. 6). Kiriyenko told the Moscow Times that he hoped to work out an agreement before U.S. President George W. Bush visits Moscow in May (see GSN, Feb. 8). The administration official told GSN this week, however, that Russia faces at least two major obstacles to receiving the funds it needs to build a destruction facility for nerve agents at Shchuchye this year — full disclosure and concrete plans (see GSN, March 1). “At this stage without the Russians addressing and resolving our concerns, I don’t see that anyone is going to prepare a recommendation [for Pentagon certification] any time soon,” the official said. “I don’t want to write it off, but it’s going to be difficult.” In addition to the problem of Russia’s declaration, the United States is concerned about another of the congressional requirements — practical plans for destroying the nerve agent stockpile. “There have been a number of different ideas, statements and announcements in Russia,” the official said. “They seem to be basically conceptual rather than a concrete plan.” Finally, a short construction season further hinders Russia’s goals, according to the official. “Shchuchye has a very short construction season. If anything is going to happen, it has to happen soon.”
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