The Group of Eight (G8) leaders issued a statement from their summit in Kananaskis, Canada, on June 27, 2002, announcing a new initiative to formalize multilateral nonproliferation cooperation.2 According to the statement, the G8 nations will coordinate the funding and implementation of projects to prevent terrorists and other proliferators from acquiring nuclear, chemical, radiological, and biological weapons; missiles; and related materials, equipment, and technology. Intended initially to direct projects toward Russia, the G8 Statement leaves open the possibility of expanding similar efforts in the future to other Newly Independent States (NIS)of the former Soviet Union and possibly to other regions of proliferation concern. In the statement, the G8 nations committed up to $20 billion to support such projects over the next 10 years.
Charles L. Thornton is a doctoral candidate at the University of Maryland, where he is a graduate research fellow in the School of Public Affair's Center for International and Security Studies at Maryland.