McCormack: USA confirmed that material found by Georgian security services was enriched uranium

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Nuclear material seized last year in Georgia was analyzed by a joint FBI and Department of Energy team and they were able to confirm that it was highly enriched uranium, US Department of State Spokesman Sean McCormack announced at a briefing in Washington on January 25.

According to a statement by Georgian authorities, in January 2006, a Russian citizen, from whom 100 g of enriched uranium were seized, and three Georgian citizens, his alleged accomplices, were sentenced to imprisonment for smuggling nuclear materials via the South Ossetian territory, as the Georgian security services say.

Sean McCormack said that there is a good cooperation between the US and Russian governments in terms of preventing nuclear terrorism and nuclear smuggling. “I think it really is incumbent upon all states if they have information that might pertain to the smuggling of these kinds of extremely dangerous materials, that they should offer up that information. The forum and particular venue in which they do that I think is up to them. But I think as a bedrock principle that it is important that we do develop the kind of mechanisms and operating principles that encourage the sharing of this kind of information. These are very dangerous materials and falling into the wrong hands can be put to use that would harm innocent civilian populations,” McCormack noted. According to the spokesman, “certainly if there's a small amount, you have to be concerned that potentially individuals might have access to larger amounts. Now, I can't tell you that for certain, but certainly you must be concerned about that. And I think that we would — we all have to be vigilant to make sure that there aren't these sort of smuggling attempts with larger amounts. It could lead to real tragedy.”

At the same time, on January 26, Georgian Prime Minister Zurab Nogaideli announced that Georgia did not want to politicize the issue of enriched uranium smuggling. “It is a cery complicated, significant and dangerous issue and it claims for cooperation between countries. First of all, I mean Georgia, Russia and other countries. We wish more cooperation instead of political statements on the venue,” he said.

According to analysts, such late revealing of the information (a year later) is explained by Georgia’s wish to find an advantage in the time of tensions with Russia.