Statement by NTI Co-Chairman Sam Nunn on the DOE — Rosatom Agreement on a Sustainability Plan

Statement by NTI Co-Chairman Sam Nunn on the DOE – Rosatom Agreement on a Sustainability Plan

Former Senator Sam Nunn, co-chairman of the Nuclear Threat Initiative (NTI), today made the following statement about the agreement by US and Russian officials on a plan to help sustain and maintain US funded security upgrades at Russian nuclear material sites:

"I commend the Department of Energy and Rosatom for reaching agreement on a plan to sustain effective security for Rosatom's nuclear stockpiles for the long haul. This is a very positive step in transitioning threat reduction programs and follows through on some of the commitments made by President Bush and President Putin at the Bratislava Summit, showing what can happen with presidential engagement on these critical security issues. The leaders of Russia, the United States, and all countries with nuclear weapons or potential nuclear bomb material must commit to provide the resources needed to sustain effective security for as long as these stockpiles exist. Wherever there is a vulnerable cache of nuclear material, U.S. homeland security is at risk, so we must dramatically accelerate our work to ensure that there are no weak links in nuclear security anywhere in the world.”

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