Former Soviet Union: Assessment of U.S. Bilateral Programs
Highlights
GAO discussed U.S. assistance to the former Soviet Union (FSU), focusing on: (1) how the executive branch has ensured program and policy coordination among federal agencies; (2) whether the Agency for International Development's (AID) assistance projects have met their objectives and contributed to systematic reform; and (3) whether the Cooperative Threat Reduction (CTR) program has achieved its objectives on schedule and what its long term projects are. GAO noted that: (1) the FSU assistance program's coordination has improved since the President strengthened the role and authority of the FSU coordinator; (2) successful AID projects for promoting economic reform and fostering the transition to democracy were strongly supported by the FSU government, were broad in scope, and considered their own sustainability from the outset; and (3) CTR has progressed over the past year and it will likely achieve its objectives, although it still has challenges to overcome, especially in chemical weapons destruction.