Speeches
Paul Longworth's Speech to Students and Journalists at the Novouralsk State Technological Institute
March 30, 2004
Introduction:
Good afternoon and thank you for having me with you today. I would like to join the Ambassador in expressing thanks to our hosts, and to all of you for coming to hear us speak today.
My name is Paul Longsworth, and I am the Deputy Administrator for Defense Nuclear Nonproliferation at the United States Department of Energy’s National Nuclear Security Administration. My office is responsible for administering a number of international nonproliferation programs, many of which are implemented cooperatively with your country. Several of the programs are being implemented here in Novouralsk. The goal of these programs is to reduce the proliferation of nuclear materials and weapons of mass destruction and to help prevent terrorists from using such weapons and materials.
It is these programs that I wish to speak with you about today. In particular, I would like to highlight the unique partnership that the Department of Energy has developed with the Ministry for Atomic Energy – which is in the process of being converted into the new Russian Federal Agency for Atomic Energy. I also want to talk about how you as individuals can help make this world better.
The Threat:
Before I talk about some of the specific results of U.S.-Russian nonproliferation cooperation, it is helpful to understand the current threat environment and how it has evolved.
In Russia, the threat of terrorism within your own borders is not a new event. The incident of Izmailovsky Park in 1995, when your authorities were notified that a radiological device --- containing cesium-137 --- was left in the woods, is but one example. Unfortunately, there are other more recent tragic events such as the bombing in the Moscow metro in February.
Outside of Russia – in Spain – the death toll from the synchronized explosions on Madrid's morning commuter trains on March 11 reached 200, more than 1,500 were wounded, and thousands mourn the loss of loved ones. This was the deadliest attack in Europe since the December 1988 downing of Pan Am Flight 103, in which 270 people died. European leaders were unanimous in condemning the attacks, but it was President Putin who cut to the heart of the matter: "As never before, it is vital to unite forces of the entire world community against terror."
As terrorists turn the world into a battlefield, the task of securing nuclear material becomes all the more urgent. Cooperation against terrorism has been a hallmark of the U.S.-Russian relationship since 9/11 and cooperation in nonproliferation is one area in which we have achieved remarkable results. Through our incremental, cumulative efforts we are preventing the spread of weapons of mass destruction.
Our response:
My organization spends over $400 million annually on cooperative nonproliferation programs in Russia and more than $1.8 billion has been invested on U.S.-Russian nonproliferation programs since 1992. We have spent over $75 million in the Urals region since 1992. This work has been – and I believe will continue to be – very successful.
This success directly reflects the commitment of your leaders, and ours, to making these programs work, and to pushing hard to accelerate the programs and break down bureaucratic obstacles. The Director of the Russian Federal Agency for Atomic Energy, Alexander Rumyantsev, and U.S. Secretary of Energy Spencer Abraham have developed a “special partnership” and they have made the success of these programs among their top priorities. And they are reflecting a commitment that starts at the very top – on more than one occasion Presidents Putin and Bush have endorsed our cooperative nonproliferation efforts.
So it is thanks to such leadership that our countries have been able to achieve remarkable results. Let me highlight just a few of them:
(1) The United States is purchasing from Russia 500 metric tons of excess highly enriched uranium (HEU) from dismantled Russian nuclear weapons. This material will be blended down to low enriched uranium and used for peaceful purposes in commercial power reactors to generate electricity. To date, over 200,000 kilograms of highly enriched uranium has already been down blended to low enriched uranium – potentially enough material for thousands of nuclear weapons.
I would like to take this opportunity to congratulate the dedicated employees of the Ural Electrochemical Integrated Enterprise (UEIE). UEIE has processed about half of the total amount of highly enriched uranium that has been down blended by the Russian Federation. UEIE has indeed played a leading role in successfully implementing the U.S.-Russian Highly Enriched Uranium Purchase Agreement.
Let me continue with several other examples of our cooperation:
(2) We’re accelerating and expanding our work to secure nuclear materials here. Since 1993, the security of over 220 metric tons of nuclear material has been improved. Next year, we expect to upgrade security on many additional metric tons of Russia’s nuclear material.
The number of sites where this material is being stored is being reduced. Reducing the number of sites storing this material lowers its vulnerability to attack or sabotage.
(3) Last March, Russia and the United States co-hosted a major international conference on the security of radiological sources – the materials that could be used in a so-called “dirty bomb”. Over 750 participants from more than 120 countries attended – far exceeding expectations. Concrete recommendations for work came out of that conference and the United States and Russia are working closely to implement those recommendations.
(4) Under the Russian Research Reactor Fuel Return program, we are repatriating at-risk highly enriched uranium located at Soviet/Russian supplied foreign research reactors in 17 countries. We have had remarkable success under this program and have recently returned highly enriched uranium from Bulgaria, Romania, and Libya back to Russia.
(5) Lastly, the United States and Russia have worked together to install nearly 400 radiation detectors at 39 strategic transit and border crossing sites in Russia to deter the illicit trafficking of nuclear and radioactive materials. We are working in over 20 additional countries on similar efforts.
These programs work because both sides are committed to their success – out of their own self-interest.
You Can Contribute:
Today I have talked about how our joint initiatives are furthering common interests and beating back proliferation and terrorist threats. That’s the big picture, but just as important is how you as individuals can make a difference in the nonproliferation field.
I have been in this business all of my adult life. I have been fortunate to serve in the Executive and Legislative branches of the U.S. Government and to hold the position that I enjoy now. But my generation came of age in a different time than yours, under different circumstances. And time is marching on.
I grew up during the Cold War. The United States and Soviet Union were adversaries. In fact, my father flew nuclear-armed bombers during the 1950’s and 60’s. President Bush recently stated that “Russia is no longer an enemy of the United States.”
You are the first post-Cold War generation. Your ideas, initiatives and policies will shape the relationship between Russia and its neighbors, between Russia and its future friends and allies and yes, Russia and its adversaries. You will have the unique opportunity to build true and enduring partnerships, including with the United States. Your actions will decide the future – of Russia and its role in the world.
I am hopeful that you will see the cooperative programs that our countries engage in as usefully contributing to the future you will want to build. Our countries work together to remove proliferation threats in Russia now; we should continue such cooperation in the future as well.
To make sure that happens effectively, it will be critical that the next generation – including many of you sitting here today and listening to these remarks – choose a career in nonproliferation. It is not a choice, but a requirement thrust upon you by a dangerous and unpredictable world.
This is key to why my organization – the NNSA – has teamed up with the Monterey Institute of International Studies to establish a sweeping program of nonproliferation education and training in Russia. This program will help develop and train the next generation of Russian nonproliferation experts. One example of some of the work being done is right here in Novouralsk.
The Nuclear Cities Education Information Center helps provide critical issues training in the area of nonproliferation studies for secondary and post-secondary students. In fact, several students from Novouralsk traveled to Monterey California in May 2003 to participate in the third International Student-Teacher Conference of the Critical Issues Forum, sponsored by the Center for Nonproliferation Studies at the Monterey Institute of International Studies. The conference focused on Northeast Asia. It is my understanding that another such conference will be held this month in Texas, and it also envisions the participation of students from Novouralsk.
I am excited about such educational programs and opportunities, especially for students like you. As the Ambassador mentioned, even though your city may be closed to the world, the world is no longer closed to you. Education is essential to helping promote people-to-people ties between our countries and address the countless challenges we face now and in the future.
You can make a difference. The gravity of the challenges before the international community make clear that there are many opportunities to make positive changes. Such change comes from individuals with ideas, initiative, and dedication. You are the ones that are needed to help make the world a safer place, and I hope you will consider a career in nonproliferation.
Thank you very much.