Lugar visits Moscow to press for renewal of nuclear pact

Sen. Dick Lugar (R-Ind.) left for Moscow on Monday as part of a three-nation trip during which he'll press for extending his signature Nunn-Lugar disarmament agreement, which expires next year.

Lugar is also slated to travel to Ukraine and Georgia as part of his annual oversight visits to verify the implementation of the Cooperative Threat Reduction Program. He authored the program with then-Sen. Sam Nunn (D-Ga.) in 1991 to provide countries of the former Soviet Union with funding and expertise to dismantle their weapons of mass destruction programs.

“My visit comes at a time of considerable stress in our bilateral relationship with Russia, great challenges in Ukraine and tremendous opportunity in Georgia,” he said in a statement announcing the trip. “The constant basis for cooperation against existential threats in all three nations has been the Nunn-Lugar program, which has endured despite great differences and dramatic changes.

“Renewing the umbrella agreement with Russia is important to continuing the WMD destruction that is in both of our national interests. The Nunn-Lugar program is also a critical element of our military-to-military and security cooperation with Russia, the Ukraine and Georgia as we face global security challenges.”

In Ukraine, Lugar is expected to verify that the last rocket motors left over from Soviet days are being eliminated, while urging the continued reduction of biological weapons. And in Georgia, he will review the country's partnership with the U.S. Army.

Lugar, the top Republican on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, was defeated in the Republican primary earlier this year.

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