Source: Carnegie

Contact: Julie Shaw, 202-939-2211
Natalia Kirpikova, Carnegie Moscow Center, 011-7095-935-8904

For immediate release: October 2, 2000

Carnegie Endowment and PIR Center Co-Sponsor
International Non-Proliferation Conference
To Be Held in Moscow

Over 100 non-proliferation and security experts and government officials will participate in the largest international non-proliferation conference ever convened in Moscow on October 6 and 7, 2000. The two-day conference is jointly organized by the Carnegie Moscow Center and the Center for Policy Studies in Russia (PIR), two leading, Moscow-based non-governmental organizations on security and non-proliferation issues. The conference was planned with the assistance of an advisory board consisting of the leaders of every major non-proliferation organization in Russia, co-chaired by Duma member Alexei Arbatov and Carnegie Senior Associate Joseph Cirincione. The ground-breaking, two-day conference will feature discussions on:

• The future of Russia?s nuclear arsenal
• The spread of nuclear capabilities in East and South Asia, and the Middle East
• Chemical and biological weapons proliferation
• Prospects for strategic nuclear reductions between Russia and the United States
• International assistance for Russian nuclear weapons elimination.

"This conference marks an important moment for the non-governmental community in Russia," said Jessica T. Mathews, president of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. "We are pleased to help showcase the important work these groups are doing to broaden the discussion and understanding of Russia?s stance on strategic nuclear issues and non-proliferation."

The conference includes international participants, with a majority from Russia and the former Soviet states, including government officials, internationally recognized experts and scholars, and members of the growing NGO community. The conference will feature presentations and keynote addresses by:

• Oleg Chernov, deputy secretary of the Russian Security Council

• Evgeny Adamov, Russian minister of atomic energy

• Fidel Castro Diaz-Balart, Cuban minister of atomic energy

• Abbas Maleki, formerly Iranian deputy minister of foreign affairs.

"Ten years ago, the entire Russian non-proliferation community could gather in a single small room," said Carnegie Scholar-in-Residence and conference co-organizer Alexander Pikayev. "Now, even two days isn?t enough time to hear from and speak with the whole community. Russia?s policy making process is changing, and this conference gives us a chance to share information and discuss future activities."

"The promotion of non-proliferation values has become one of the most urgent issues for the coming millennium, especially since during the last five years, a regression in this area has taken place. Russia may make a significant contribution to the cause of arms control and nuclear non-proliferation, and this conference will obviously help it to do so," added PIR Director and conference co-organizer Vladimir Orlov.

Conference organizers will post summaries of keynote addresses, presentations, and panel discussions to the Carnegie Non-Proliferation web site at www.ceip.org/npp. The site will eventually contain full details from the conference, including English and Russian transcripts, presentations, biographies, and a list of attendees.

This event is being held through the generous support of the Carnegie Corporation of New York, the W. Alton Jones Foundation, The John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, The John Merck Fund, and the Ploughshares Fund.

About the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace
Founded in 1910, the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace is a private nonprofit organization dedicated to advancing cooperation among nations and promoting active international engagement by the United States. The Carnegie Endowment?s research projects are grouped in two areas, the Global Policy Program and the Russian and Eurasian Program. The Carnegie Endowment publishes Foreign Policy magazine and operates the Carnegie Moscow Center to address compelling issues confronting post-communist societies.

The Carnegie Moscow Center was founded in 1993 and was the first public policy research center of its kind in the region. The staff of 35 is Russian, except for an American director. The Center offers extensive meetings and publications activities, including the quarterly policy journal Pro et Contra. Visit www.ceip.org for more information as well as www.carnegie.ru for more on the Carnegie Moscow Center.

About PIR: Center for Policy Studies in Russia
PIR is the acronym for the Russian words Policy Studies in Russia. The PIR Center is a non-profit, independent, Moscow-based research and public education organization, which was founded in April 1994. Although its name and flexible structure permit it to conduct research on a wide range of issues related to Russian foreign and domestic policy, the Center is currently focused on international security, arms control, and nonproliferation issues that are directly related to Russia?s internal situation. It is one of the leading Russian non-governmental organizations working in this area. Its Yaderny Kontrol journal is widely known in Russia and abroad and is disseminated among the Russian and foreign academic and decision-making community. For more information, visit www.pircenter.org.

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