Washington, 2 July 1997 (RFE/RL) - The White House says the United States still has confidence in the security of nuclear weapons stored in the former Soviet Union.
Spokesman Michael McCurry says the United States is "working hard to ensure that authorities in Russia maintain effective command and control over weapons and nuclear materials inherited from the former Soviet Union." He says the issue is a regular subject for discussion between Russian and U.S. officials.
McCurry said he would not comment on the arrest of two men in the southern U.S. state of Florida on charges of conspiring to sell nuclear materials. The men, identified as Lithuanians, were tape-recorded while allegedly negotiating the sale of nuclear and conventional weapons. No weapons were ever delivered by the two men.