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

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