27 



so. The question is if they can, even if they really tried, deal with 

 the enormous backlog which for many reasons has developed. 



A significant step was recently taken by the Russian authorities 

 in developing a plan for the decommissioning of submarines. A 

 Norwegian company financed under our plan of action has taken 

 part in the development of this plan. I am sure we will hear more 

 about this in the months ahead. 



It seems to me that a key to addressing the waste problem in the 

 Russian northern fleet is to build up relations with those organs 

 responsible on the Russian side. Inter alia, for this purpose, a mili- 

 tary expert group has been set up between Russia, the United 

 States, and Norway. We hope that the group also will gradually ex- 

 pand its work to solving concrete problems. 



Significant work in confidence building as well as in research has 

 also been done through the pilot study which has been created by 

 the North Atlantic Cooperation Council, in jargon called the NACC. 

 The first phase of the pilot study was concluded in September this 

 year. This study was the result of a Norwegian initiative in 1992 

 to exploit the new possibilities opened up by the end of the cold 

 war and the creation of the NACC. 



I believe it is fair to say that our expectations were met and that 

 the first phase of the study was successful. The participation of 

 more than 20 countries, as well as the final report on radioactive 

 and chemical pollution problems bear witness to this. A phase 2 of 

 the study has now been launched with broad participation and we 

 have great expectation that the phase 2 will help us develop a com- 

 mon understanding of the challenges identified in the first phase. 



Mr. Chairman, although each country must take the responsibil- 

 ity for its nuclear facilities, we cannot overlook the fact that the sit- 

 uation Russia finds itself in after the cold war is a very special one. 

 Furthermore, the interdependence and transboundary character of 

 the problems are such that we cannot afford to leave the situation 

 as it is until Russia can deal with it herself. Therefore, an inter- 

 national effort to assist Russia and assist ourselves is urgently 

 called for. 



At the G-7 summit in Halifax this year, the G-7 leaders and 

 President Yeltsin agreed to arrange a summit on nuclear safety in 

 Moscow in April 1996. We have great expectations that the sum- 

 mit, in addition to considering the safety of nuclear reactors and 

 illicit tracking of nuclear materials, also will address in a sub- 

 stantive way the problems of management and storage of spent nu- 

 clear fuel and radioactive waste. 



The summit should initiate urgent work to further study these 

 problems, as well as give impetus to international cooperation on 

 concrete projects. An appropriate multilateral forum for coordinat- 

 ing activities should be identified. 



Last, the summit should initiate discussions regarding how na- 

 tional efforts may be supplemented by multilateral financial assist- 

 ance, for instance, as a parallel to the nuclear safety account oper- 

 ated by the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development. 

 Thank you, Mr. Chairman. 



[The prepared statement of Mr. Bryn follows:] 



35-799 96-2 



