G8 SUMMIT TO DISCUSS NUCLEAR-SAFETY ISSUES
WASHINGTON, June 5 (RIA Novosti) - Denmark, Ireland, New Zealand and some other countries will join the G8 initiative aiming to help Russia ensure the safety of its nuclear materials.
This was disclosed to RIA Novosti here the other day by a high-ranking US Administration spokesman, who is taking part in pre-summit preparations. The forthcoming G8 summit will be held on Sea Island, Georgia.
The decision to increase the number of donor countries will be announced during a summit session dealing with non-proliferation issues, the Administration spokesman added.
This program, i.e. global partnership against the spread of weapons and materials of mass destruction, was first announced at the G8's Kananaskis summit in Canada (June 26-27, 2002).
At that time, G8 countries agreed to set aside $20 billion for Russia over a ten-year period, so that Moscow could ensure safe storage of nuclear, chemical and biological materials, also disposing of them properly. The United States was supposed to provide $10 billion, with all other member-countries contributing the rest.
Russia itself plans to set aside $2 billion for this program within the next decade.
Evian in France hosted the previous G8 summit in the summer of 2003, with G8 leaders agreeing to expand the number of global-partnership participants by incorporating interested donor countries, which are not G8 members, and which are ready to accept Kananaskis-summit documents. |
