§ Tom CoxTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent discussions he has held with the Russian Government on the decommissioning of Russian nuclear submarines; and what estimate has been made of the number of such submarines. [175161]
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§ Mr. RammellThe Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) is responsible for the UK's programme of assistance to Russia for the dismantling of nuclear submarines. The Parliamentary Under Secretary of State at the DTI, my hon. Friend the Member for Edinburgh, South (Nigel Griffiths) visited Russia in February, this year to view the progress of the UK programme.
Currently, two Oscar-1 class submarines are being dismantled as part of this programme at a shipyard near Archangel and discussions are underway for further projects. The Russian Government has informed us that there are approximately 60 decommissioned nuclear submarines in North West Russia awaiting dismantling and a further 30 in the Russian Far East.
Co-operation in this area continues to feature in regular bilateral discussions between officials. Further detail on the UK's programme of support for the G8 Global Partnership against weapons and materials of mass destruction can be found in the Department for Trade and Industry's First Annual Report on the Former Soviet Union Nuclear Legacy Programme at http://www.dti.gov.uk/energy/nuclear/fsu/news/First_annual_report.pdf.