U.S. inspectors to look for Russian nukes

A team of U.S. weapons inspectors has arrived in Kaliningrad, Russia, as part of a mission to verify that Moscow has kept its word and has not moved tactical nuclear weapons into the area.

The inspection comes after U.S. press reports in January that Russia had moved tactical nuclear weapons to a military base in the enclave, following threats to do so if NATO's eastward expansion continued.

Though Moscow has denied the weapons were transferred, U.S. reports said satellite imagery showed the weapons moving by ship and rail to the area. Officials were not able to distinguish the type of weapons being deployed, but speculated they were tactical battlefield weapons.

The U.S. inspection is the fifth conducted within the framework of a treaty signed by the former USSR and the United States at the end of the Cold War. Previous inspections were held in 1992, 1996, 1998 and 1999. The current inspection is the last one under the framework agreement.

Russian officials said the U.S. team would be scrupulous in its examination of the Kaliningrad facility.

"It seems that the U.S. wants to confirm a scandalous statement made by the Western press concerning the deployment of nuclear weapons in the Kaliningrad region," an unnamed Russian defense official was quoted as saying yesterday by Itar-TASS.

The Washington Times originally reported on the transfer of nuclear weapons to Kaliningrad, which is a major seaport located between Poland and Lithuania. It is a major base for Russian naval and ground forces. It is also home to Baltic Fleet headquarters.

The original movement of the weapons was detected in June 2000.

Some defense officials said the weapons are probably for use on a new short-range missile known as the Toka. A Toka was test-fired on April 18 in Kaliningrad. It has a range of about 44 miles, the Times reported.

The paper said U.S. spy satellites were able to pinpoint the exact location of the weapons in a February follow-up report.

The weapons were transferred via ship to a special nuclear storage bunker near a military airfield in Kaliningrad, said the paper.