Support for International Science and Technology Center - James A. Baker address - Transcript

US Department of State Dispatch, March 16, 1992

Just 3 weeks ago, I had the unprecedented opportunity to visit Chelyabinsk-70--one of the premier nuclear weapons laboratories of the former Soviet Union. It is a place where some of the finest minds of an entire generation devoted their creative energies to designing the weapons that gave the Cold War its most terrifying dimension.

There I found that the upheaval that had profoundly transformed the former Soviet society outside the heavily secured gates of this closed and isolated Urals mountain community was also turning upside down the lives of the specialists within. I met with a group of senior staff and scientists and listened to what the end of the Cold War--and the resulting sharp decline in demand for their old talents--meant to them.

What I heard was deep uncertainty on the part of the scientists about what the future held in store and anxiety about the impact the anticipated hardships might have on their families. I saw discouragement on their faces about what top-notch scientists may fear most--the absence of intellectually challenging work. And I heard concern that economic and professional conditions could deteriorate to the point where even highly patriotic and responsible specialists might be tempted to market their skills to unscrupulous regimes.

But I also heard some very encouraging things from the scientists of Chelyabinsk. I heard their readiness--indeed, their eagerness--to adapt their old skills in weapons development to non-military purposes. I heard their strong desire after decades of physical and intellectual isolation to enter the mainstream of international scientific life and to tackle urgent technical problems common to society as a whole--not just to a narrow segment of the military-industrial complex.

What I found at Chelyabinsk-70, in other words, was a realistic appreciation of the difficult challenges ahead, along with a strong desire to meet those challenges head on. What was missing was material support and the institutional framework to channel that support where it is needed.

That is why our meeting today is crucial. By establishing a well-funded International Science and Technology Center, we can provide weapons scientists and engineers of the former Soviet Union [with] technically interesting and professionally rewarding opportunities to put their talents to productive use in non-military areas. In so doing, we can minimize any incentives that may exist for those highly skilled personnel to engage in activities that could assist the proliferation of nuclear, chemical, or biological weapons, missile delivery systems, or other advanced military technologies.

Combating proliferation--the most pressing security challenge of the 1990s and beyond--should thus be a central objective of projects funded by the center. Yet by sering this vital goal, the center's projects can promote wider goals as well. They can contribute to ongoing efforts to reduce and eliminate weapons of mass destruction. They can contribute to efforts by the states of the former Soviet Union to make the difficult conversion from heavily militarized command economies to market-based systems responsive to civilian needs, and they can help achieve solutions to critical national and international problems, such as those involving the environment, health, and energy.

Our task is urgent. We must translate the idea of an International Science and Technology Center into a working reality as expeditiously as possible. For this reason, we are pleased that representatives from the European Community, Japan, and the United States--three parties we expect will be major financial contributors to the center--have joined with Russia in preparing an international agreement that would formally establish the center. We should make every effort to ensure signature and entry into force of this agreement before the end of March. We should then proceed with concrete steps necessary to get the center up and running--with projects approved and funded--by early summer. The joint statement we have issued today outlines a variety of actions over the next months to get the center operational by the summer.

Success of the center will require broad international support by governments, by the private sector, and by the international non-governmental scientific community as well. We welcome the attendance here today of states of the former Soviet Union and look forward to exchanging views with you on how best to structure and operate the center.

We also welcome participation today by prospective donor parties, including the senior-level representatives of the major donors who will take their place as initial members of the center's governing board. We hope to increase the number of states who will make substantial contributions to the center and will join us on the governing board. In this connection, I would like to confirm today that the United States is now actively taking the steps necessary to provide the $25 million we earlier pledged to help get the center started and fund its projects.