KGB HAD TACTICAL NUCLEAR WEAPONS

MOSCOW, May 4. (RIA Novosti) - In the past, nuclear suitcase bombs were made for the KGB, which means that the intelligence service had tactical nuclear weapons. In fact, they had 250 of them, but they no longer pose a threat because the service life of such bombs is very short, said Alexei Yablokov, president of Russia's Center of Ecological Policy, in an interview with a daily, Gazeta.

He assured the newspaper that not one theft of a nuclear weapon had been registered in Russia. Yablokov said that nuclear weapons were well guarded, but admitted that some radioactive materials had been stolen because production was not so secure.

The U.S. Congress claimed in 1996 that the Soviet Union had several suitcase bombs, all of which have been stolen. This claim was based on a misunderstanding. At that time, Yablokov was on the staff of Russia's Security Council. Following several reports about alleged nuclear suitcase bombs in Chechnya, the then secretary of the Security Council, General Alexander Lebed, ordered an inventory of these weapons. It showed that all such weapons were in safe storage, but Lebed's initiative was interpreted as proof that thefts had taken place.

The 250 bombs were stored in different depots. Nuclear charges should be regularly renewed and such weapons are never stored in one place for a long time. One can say how many nuclear weapons are on combat duty but it is difficult to say how many are stored because some weapons have been disassembled, Yablokov said.

Alexei Yablokov is a non-voting member of the Russian Academy of Sciences, honorary member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, vice-president of the World Conservation Union, environmental adviser to the Russian president (1991-1993), and organizer and head of the Russian Security Council's commission on environmental security (1993-1996).