[Congressional Record Volume 140, Number 17 (Thursday, February 24, 1994)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]


[Congressional Record: February 24, 1994]
From the Congressional Record Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]

 
      COMMITMENTS MADE BY PRESIDENT CLINTON DURING HIS RECENT TRIP

                                 ______


                          HON. LEE H. HAMILTON

                               of indiana

                    in the house of representatives

                      Thursday, February 24, 1994

  Mr. HAMILTON. Mr. Speaker, I asked Ambassador Strobe Talbott on 
January 25, 1994, to provide me a list, in writing, of every promise 
and every commitment made by President Clinton during his recent trip 
to Europe, secret or not secret.
  On February 18, 1994, I received an unclassified response from the 
State Department. The text of that document follows:

       Question. What commitments were made to the Russian 
     Government at the recent summit?
       Answer:


          agreements and joint statements of the moscow summit

                   Documents signed by the Presidents

       Trilateral Statement by the United States, Russia, and 
     Ukraine on transfer of nuclear weapons from Ukraine to Russia 
     with Ukraine to receive compensation, security assurances, 
     and assistance in safe and secure dismantlement of nuclear 
     weapons.
       Presidents Clinton and Yeltsin provided certain security 
     assurances to President Kravchuk once START I enters into 
     force and Ukraine joins the NPT. These include commitments: 
     to respect Ukraine's independence and sovereignty and refrain 
     from the threat or use of force against it; to refrain from 
     economic coercion; to seek UN Security Council assistance if 
     Ukraine should be the object of a threat involving nuclear 
     weapons; and not to use nuclear weapons against it.
       Presidents Clinton and Yeltsin also informed President 
     Kravchuk that consultations have been held with the United 
     Kingdom, the third depository state of the NPT, and that the 
     United Kingdom is prepared to offer the same security 
     assurances to Ukraine once it becomes a non-nuclear-weapon 
     state party to the NPT.
       President Clinton reaffirmed the U.S. commitment to assist 
     the safe and secure dismantlement of nuclear forces. Under 
     the terms of the highly enriched uranium (HEU) contract 
     signed in Moscow, Russia will convert 500 tons of HEU to low-
     enriched uranium (LEU) and sell the LEU to the United States 
     Enrichment Corporation (USEC), a U.S. Government corporation. 
     USEC will use the LEU it purchases from Russia to fulfill 
     contracts it has to supply fuel for nuclear power stations in 
     the United States and throughout the world. Over the 20-year 
     life of this contract, Russia will earn approximately $12 
     billion from sales of enriched uranium that will be sold to 
     commercial nuclear power stations. There will be no net cost 
     to the U.S. Government.
       The Annex to the Trilateral Statement records the three 
     Presidents' decision to take certain steps within ten months. 
     These include: provision to Ukraine of fuel assemblies 
     containing 100 tons of low-enriched uranium (to begin the 
     process of compensation); transfer of at least 200 warheads 
     from SS-19 and SS-24 missiles for dismantlement; and an 
     advance payment of 60 million dollars to Russia against the 
     HEU contract to help defer costs of transporting and 
     disassembling warheads and to produce fuel assemblies.
       Moscow Declaration between United States and Russia 
     summarizing the achievements of the summit and current 
     development in the U.S.-Russia partnership.
       The two Presidents agreed upon the need to strengthen arms 
     reduction and nonproliferation regimes and to create, 
     together with other interested states, a new mechanism to 
     enhance transparency and responsibility in the transfer of 
     conventional arms and sensitive dual-use technologies.
       Further, the Presidents announced that they would direct 
     the detargeting of strategic nuclear missiles under this 
     respective commands so that by not later than May 30, 1994, 
     those missiles will not be targeted.
       The two Presidents reaffirmed their readiness to move 
     forward on the path of openness and mutual trust in American-
     Russian relations and to create favorable conditions for the 
     comprehensive development of political, commercial, 
     humanitarian, and people-to-people contacts between the two 
     countries. In this connection, the United States intends to 
     open a Consulate General in Yekaterinburg in February 1994.

             Documents issued in the name of the Presidents

       Joint Statement on Human Rights calls for full respect for 
     human rights and condemns aggressive nationalism, ethnic and 
     religious intolerance, and anti-Semitism.
       Joint Statement on Non-Proliferation which commits the U.S. 
     and Russia to work closely to prevent proliferation of 
     weapons of mass destruction and their delivery systems, 
     biological weapons, proliferation of ballistic missile 
     technology, and proliferation of other destabilizing military 
     technologies.
       President Clinton and President Yeltsin agreed to establish 
     a joint working group to consider:
       Including in their voluntary IAEA safeguards offers all 
     source and special fissionable materials, excluding only 
     those associated with activities having direct national 
     security significance;
       Steps to ensure the transparency and irreversibility of the 
     process of reduction of nuclear weapons, including the 
     possibility of putting a portion of fissile material under 
     IAEA safeguards. Particular attention would be given to 
     materials released in the process of nuclear disarmament and 
     steps to ensure that these materials would not be used again 
     for nuclear weapons.
       The Presidents also tasked their experts to study options 
     for the long-term disposition of fissile materials, 
     particularly of plutonium, taking into account the issues of 
     non-proliferation, environmental protection, safety, and 
     technical and economic factors.
       They reaffirmed the intention of interested organizations 
     of the two countries to complete within a short time a joint 
     study of the possibilities of terminating the production of 
     weapon-grade plutonium.
       To promote the implementation of a comprehensive ban on 
     chemical weapons, the Presidents welcomed the conclusion of 
     the implementing documents for the Wyoming Memorandum of 
     Understanding and agreed to conclude work in as short a time 
     as possible on the implementing documents for the Bilateral 
     Agreement on the Destruction of Chemical Weapons.
       The United States welcomed Russia's intention to join the 
     Missile Technology Control Regime and undertook to cooperate 
     with Russia in facilitating its membership at an early date.

                  Fund for Large Enterprises in Russia

       President Clinton named Michael Blumenthal, former 
     Secretary of Treasury under President Carter, as Chairman of 
     the Fund for Large Enterprises in Russia. The Fund will 
     promote private sector development in the Russian Federation.
       The U.S. plans to capitalize the Fund with $100 million in 
     foreign assistance appropriations this year.

                        Bilateral Trade Mission

       The President committed to send a group of U.S. business 
     executives, headed by Commerce Secretary Brown, to visit 
     Russia in March to promote trade and investment.

Documents signed by Secretary of State Christopher and Foreign Minister 
                                Kozyrev

       Memorandum of Intent Concerning Cooperation in the Area of 
     Export Control commits the signatories to cooperate in 
     discussions, consultations, and training to prevent 
     proliferation of weapons of mass destruction and other 
     destabilizing military technologies.
       Air Transport Agreement that will provide American carriers 
     new overflight routes in the Russian Far East and expand 
     service by U.S. and Russian carriers to each other's cities.
       Agreement on Cooperation in the Fields of Public Health and 
     Biomedical Research that will facilitate development of 
     direct contacts between scientists, universities, research 
     centers and other institutions on disease control and 
     prevention, public health protection, and biomedical 
     research.
       Agreement on Cooperation in Radiation Health Effects 
     provides for broad U.S.-Russian cooperation on the effects of 
     ionizing radiation on human health and environment. Such 
     research can improve understanding of health and safety 
     precautions to protect workers and the public against 
     exposure to radiation from releases from nuclear facilities 
     or nuclear accidents.

         Documents issued in the name of the Foreign Ministers

       Middle East Joint Statement that will commit both sides to 
     continue their partnership in promoting the Middle East Peace 
     Process.
       Joint Statement on COCOM that will commit both countries to 
     cooperate in replacement of the current COCOM structure with 
     a new multilateral mechanism to prevent proliferation of 
     weapons of mass destruction, their delivery systems, and 
     other military technologies.


 agreements and joint statements of president clinton's official visit 
                           to minsk, belarus

       President Clinton reiterated the United States' deep 
     appreciation for the historic steps Belarus has taken in 
     fulfillment of its commitment to a non-nuclear future. He 
     informed Chairman Shushkevich of the availability of 
     additional funds, including $25 million under the Nunn-Lugar 
     legislation for the Safe and Secure Dismantlement (SSD) of 
     Nuclear Weapons.
       To assist Belarus in undertaking serious economic reform, 
     President Clinton informed Chairman Shushkevich of a new 
     package of $10 million in technical assistance for Belarus 
     that will help fund small-scale privatization, exchanges and 
     training, and projects in health, energy and the environment.
       President Clinton and Chairman Shushkevich signed a 
     Bilateral Investment Treaty which will encourage private 
     investment and economic growth in Belarus. An agreement was 
     announced allowing the U.S. Export-Import bank to expand its 
     operations in financing bilateral trade.
       The parties agreed to establish an American Business Center 
     in Minsk and further agreed to create a bilateral Business 
     Development Committee to help identify and resolve problems 
     that impede business expansion and to seek ways to develop 
     new business opportunities.
       The U.S. and Belarus agreed to establishment of a Regional 
     Enterprise Fund and also signed a memorandum of understanding 
     expressing their intention to establish a Joint Commission 
     for Agribusiness and Rural Development. Noting a recent 
     protocol signed between the United States and Belarus in 
     Washington providing credits to Belarus for the purchase of 
     U.S. wheat exports, President Clinton informed Chairman 
     Shushkevich of the availability of an additional $10 million 
     in P.L. 480 credits to be used for the purpose of U.S. food 
     commodities.
       President Clinton announced a donation of humanitarian 
     medical equipment and training worth $10 million for the 
     Republic of Belarus. The equipment will be sufficient to 
     equip an entire 1,500-bed hospital.
       President Clinton pledged American technical electoral 
     assistance as soon as a date for new elections is announced 
     by the Supreme Soviet. These elections now appear unlikely to 
     take place in 1994.

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