Overcoming Impediments to U.S.-Russian Cooperation on Nuclear Nonproliferation: Report of a Joint Workshop (2004)

The National Academies of the United States and the Russian Academy of Sciences held a workshop in Vienna, Austria on September 22-23, 2003. The purpose of the workshop was to identify both impediments to cooperation between the United States and Russia on nuclear nonproliferation and strategies that the two countries can use to address or overcome impediments (see Appendix A for the statement of task). The workshop participants comprised a group of independent experts and government officials from the Russian Federation and the United States. A list of participants can be found in Appendix B. Prior to the meeting, the chairs of the workshop circulated background papers, in Russian and English, which were based on discussions with the workshop participants and other current and former government officials working in this arena. These papers, which served as the basis for discussions, are included in Appendixes D and E. Material from the background papers that was not explicitly discussed during the workshop, but that informed the discussions, is noted in the text of this report. The International Atomic Energy Agency generously hosted the workshop.

This report describes the concepts and insights on these issues that were expressed during the workshop discussions and in the background papers on which discussions were based. The joint committee has organized the information, ideas, and perspectives that were articulated during the meeting into a logical structure. The report describes the context and goals of cooperation between the United States and Russia on nuclear nonproliferation (Section 1); describes the backgrounds and characteristics of programs that have patterns of success (Section 2); defines and analyzes existing impediments to cooperation (Section 3); and presents options or strategies for overcoming or reducing impediments in the future (Section 4). No pertinent issues were explicitly excluded from the workshop discussion, but no attempt was made to systematically cover all aspects of cooperation between the United States and Russia on nuclear nonproliferation. Instead, participants discussed topics that they felt relevant and important within the context of the discussion. Since the report reflects the workshop discussions, it does not constitute an exhaustive survey of these issues.

In the interest of promoting candor on the part of workshop participants, the workshop was held with the understanding that comments would not be attributed to individuals. As a record of the workshop discussion, the report includes opinions and recommendations expressed by individuals and groups who attended.⁴ The opinions expressed in this report, however, do not

necessarily reflect the views of all workshop participants, the committee, the National Academies, or the Russian Academy of Sciences. Nor do they represent the official positions of the United States or Russian governments. The report does not contain consensus findings or recommendations from the workshop participants as a whole, or of the steering committee.

Despite many positive and encouraging results in U.S.-Russian cooperation on nuclear nonproliferation over the last decade, a variety of problems and impediments have emerged which significantly reduce the efficiency and effectiveness of joint efforts. The causes of these impediments appear to be varied in nature, resulting from political, legal, technical, managerial, bureaucratic, structural, socio-historical, and other issues. The committee and the workshop participants acknowledged the complex and interrelated character of emerging difficulties and impediments to cooperation, noting that no single remedy will be able to solve these problems. It nevertheless seems quite possible and useful to describe the experiences and lessons of cooperation and to identify opportunities, strategies, tools, and resources that may be useful in overcoming impediments to cooperation.