MOSCOW, April 19 (Reuters) - A U.S. Pentagon official said on Monday
that
Russia and the United States were still cooperating closely on the
"Y2K"
millennium computer bug problem, denying a previous report that Russia
had
pulled out.
"Nothing relative to the Y2K has been formally called off or suspended
or
anything," Rosanne Hynes, head of the Pentagon's Year 2000 committee,
told
Reuters at a Moscow conference on the problem.
Russian news agency Interfax reported last month that Russia, outraged
by
NATO air strikes against Yugoslavia, had called off cooperation on the
problem, caused by programmes unable to distinguish between the years
1900
and 2000 because they identify years by the last two digits.
Russian and U.S. experts both say it is virtually impossible for the bug
to
spark an accidental nuclear launch. But they have have suggested that
both
sides take extra precautions to prevent a computer glitch from causing a
false alarm.
The United States has proposed placing Russian and U.S. technicians side
by
side in a joint nuclear command centre during the months before and
after
January 1, 2000, a plan which U.S. officials say has been well received
in
Russia.
"We're still planning and we've received no communique from the
Russians
saying they're intending to cancel anything," Hynes said, adding she
had
just discussed details of the plan with Russian counterparts.
"The Russians sitting with their U.S. counterparts in that centre will
have
full insight into everything associated with U.S. space launch activity
and
missile launch activity."
Hynes said the Russian defence ministry was taking the problem seriously
and
working hard to address related issues, and the executive director of
the
U.S. President's Council on Year 2000 Conversion said she also had a
positive
impression.
"I'm very encouraged by what I'm seeing here today," Janet Abrams told
Reuters.
"It tracks very well with what we're doing. We know everybody has
challenges
and they have other stresses on their governments that we may not have
to
face at this time, so we're encouraged and eager to continue working
cooperatively."
