Russian Involvement Seen in Nuclear Smuggling
BONN — German police fear some Russian officials are involved in the smuggling of nuclear material, a senior aide to Chancellor Helmut Kohl said Friday.
Bernd Schmidbauer, Kohl’s intelligence coordinator, made the comment in discussing why police did not notify their Russian counterparts of a sting designed to collar a suspected nuclear smuggler.
“This isn’t an accusation, but rather the point that must be discussed in Moscow--working together,” he said.
Schmidbauer was to fly to Moscow on Saturday with Germany’s top intelligence chiefs and nuclear scientists in an effort to coordinate actions against nuclear smuggling.
Officials in Moscow have denied that weapons-grade nuclear materials have been spirited out of Russia.
Sign up for Essential California
The most important California stories and recommendations in your inbox every morning.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.
