Bryan’s trip to Russia will focus on nukes, terrorism

Benjamin Grove

Wednesday, May 3, 2000 | 11:09 a.m.

WASHINGTON -- Sen. Richard Bryan, D-Nev., who in recent weeks has been fighting efforts to move nuclear waste to Nevada, will change his focus to nuclear weapons and terrorism later this month as he travels on a diplomatic mission.

Bryan, vice chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, departs on May 25 for visits to Russia, some of the former Soviet states, Turkey and Bulgaria.

Bryan will join Sen. Richard Shelby, R-Ala., the committee chairman, and Sen. Fritz Hollings, D-S.C., on an 11-day trip that includes stops in St. Petersburg and Moscow in Russia; Kiev and Simferopol in the Ukraine; Istanbul, Turkey, and Sofia, Bulgaria.

The committee is charged with overseeing the nation's espionage programs, including Central Intelligence Agency activities, which are kept secret from the public.

The committee, which often meets behind closed doors, has released little information about the upcoming Russia trip and Bryan said he could not discuss the itinerary in detail.

"These meetings will more likely tend to focus on issues we deal with within the Intelligence Committee -- terrorism, proliferation of nuclear weapons," Bryan said.

Other possible, but less likely topics: Russia's controversial military involvement in Chechnya and Russia's decision this month to approve the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty, an international ban on nuclear tests.

The U.S. Senate has not yet voted to sign the treaty, despite a vocal minority in the Senate, including Bryan, who advocate signing it. Even so, the United States has not tested nuclear weapons since 1992.

It's also possible, but not confirmed, that Bryan's group will meet with new Russian President Vladimir Putin, Bryan said. Putin was a longtime agent in the KGB, counterpart to America's CIA.

Bryan, who retires from the Senate at the end of the year, in January stepped into the No. 2 spot on the committee. In January he and Shelby traveled to eight nations in Africa to view security risks at U.S. embassies. The two found that some embassies are at risk.

The cost of the official congressional trips, paid for by taxpayers, will be detailed in committee reports later this year. Bryan's expenses for the Africa trip, including meals and lodging, were roughly $3,600, committee officials said. But that figure does not include a number of other expenses such as increased security, special ground transportation arrangements and an Air Force jet to shuttle the senators overseas.