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Project Sapphire 20 Years Later: Cooperative Threat Reduction and Lessons for the Future

Monday, November 17, 2014 5:30 pm -
Tuesday, November 18, 2014 7:30 pm

Twenty years ago, in November 1994, the United States and Kazakhstan completed an unprecedented, highly secret, joint operation removing approximately 600 kilograms of highly enriched uranium from a former Soviet nuclear plant in Ust-Kamenogorsk to permanent storage in the United States. The operation, dubbed "Project Sapphire", was funded by the U.S. Department of Defense's Cooperative Threat Reduction (Nunn-Lugar) Program.

This program helped secure nuclear warheads and fissile materials in the former Soviet Union and ensured their relocation to Russia from Kazakhstan, Ukraine and Belarus. Kazakhstan's early decision to become a nuclear weapon-free state made it a global leader in the non-proliferation movement.

To mark the 20th anniversary of these efforts, please join us for a discussion of the history and lessons of U.S.-Kazakhstan joint efforts.

Welcoming remarks by:

Andrew Kuchins
Director and Senior Fellow, Russia and Eurasia Program, CSIS

Opening remarks by: 

Kairat Umarov
Ambassador of the Republic of Kazakhstan to the United States

Keynote speech by: 

Senator Richard Lugar
President of the Lugar Center

Presentations by:

Andrew Weber
Debuty Head, Ebola Coordination Unit, U.S. Department of State; Member of the 1994 top-secret "Tiger Team"

Laura Holgate
Senior Director, WMD Terrorism and Threat Reduction at the National Security Council

David Hoffman
Pulitzer-Prize winning author of The Dead Hand: The Untold Story of the Cold War Arms Race and its Dangerous Legacy

Moderated by:

Tom Blanton
Director, National Security Archive at the George Washington University

Closing Remarks by:

Richard Hoagland
Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asia, U.S. Department of State

CSIS Experts
Andrew C. Kuchins
Senior Associate (Non-resident), Russia and Eurasia Program
Contact
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Contact H. Andrew Schwartz
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Tel: 202.775.3242

Contact Caleb Diamond
Media Relations Manager and Editorial Associate
Tel: 202.775.3173

Related
Central Asia, Defense Strategy and Capabilities, Defense and Security, Geopolitics and International Security, Russia and Eurasia, Russia and Eurasia Program, Ukraine, Belarus, and Moldova

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