RUSSIANS BRISTLE OVER U.S.-KAZAK ENVIRONMENTAL SURVEY.

Publication: Monitor Volume: 3 Issue: 124

The Russian Foreign Ministry yesterday circulated a statement denouncing the planned flights over parts of Kazakstan by a specially-equipped U.S. Navy P-3 Orion patrol plane that arrived in Almaty last week. The plane carries under its wings what is known as the Airborne Multisensory Pod System (AMPS)-2. The pods house sophisticated imaging instruments which map the ground beneath the aircraft with a wide array of sensors. The upcoming flights are being conducted on the basis of a July 1996 agreement between the U.S. Department of Energy and Kazakstan’s Ministry of Science. They aim to help Kazakstan evaluate and then clean up the sites on its territory used by the Soviet Union to test both nuclear and chemical or biological weapons. The flights are also an experiment to see if the AMPS can locate mineral deposits.

The Monitor is a publication of the Jamestown Foundation. It is researched and written under the direction of senior analysts Jonas Bernstein, Vladimir Socor, Stephen Foye, and analysts Ilya Malyakin, Oleg Varfolomeyev and Ilias Bogatyrev. If you have any questions regarding the content of the Monitor, please contact the foundation. If you would like information on subscribing to the Monitor, or have any comments, suggestions or questions, please contact us by e-mail at pubs@jamestown.org, by fax at 301-562-8021, or by postal mail at The Jamestown Foundation, 4516 43rd Street NW, Washington DC 20016. Unauthorized reproduction or redistribution of the Monitor is strictly prohibited by law. Copyright (c) 1983-2002 The Jamestown Foundation Site Maintenance by Johnny Flash Productions