Russian nuclear fuel producer TVEL expects to sign a $780 million contract for fuel supplies to Indian nuclear power plants, a spokesman for Russia’s state nuclear power corporation Rosatom has said.
The contract, if signed, could make Russia the first country to supply nuclear fuel to India since the Nuclear Suppliers Group lifted a three-decade ban on nuclear fuel sales to the country on Sept 6, 2008.
“The contract is likely to be signed on February 11 in Mumbai,” the spokesman said Saturday.
Under the deal, Russia would supply 2,000 tonnes of uranium pellets to India.
In December, the French company Areva and India’s Atomic Energy Department signed a deal for the supply of 300 tonnes of uranium to be used in Indian nuclear reactors under International Atomic Energy Agency safeguards.
The fuel contract would be another step in burgeoning nuclear cooperation between Russia and India.
On Dec 5, Moscow and Delhi signed an agreement to build an additional four reactors for the Kudankulam nuclear power plant, where it is finishing two reactors under an earlier contract, and construct new nuclear plants in India.
TVEL is one of the world’s leading manufacturers of nuclear fuel, which it supplies to 73 commercial (17 percent of global market) and 30 research reactors in 13 countries.
(Source: SindhToday.net)
Showing posts with label Russia. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Russia. Show all posts
Monday, February 9, 2009
Wednesday, January 14, 2009
Russia will fulfill duties on Iran’s nuclear power plant
Russia will fulfill its commitments on completing Iran’s first nuclear power plant in Bushehr despite of any pressures, said Iranian Ambassador to Russia Mahmoud-Reza Sajjadi.
Speaking in an interview with the Russian newspaper Zavtra Online, the ambassador said Iran did not believe that the Russian side has deliberately delayed completion of the 1,000-MW power plant.
Based on the previously agreed timetable, the power plant which is being built in cooperation with Russia, was to become operational in fall of 2008. However its construction was delayed for various reasons including some difficulties occurred in delivering its remaining equipment and necessary fuel.
Sajjadi regretted that completion of the project has been prolonged.
“However, this was not only the fault of the Russian side, but some countries that should produce equipment of the power plants have, sometimes failed, surprisingly, to fulfill their commitments,” explained the ambassador.
He stressed that certain states would not miss a chance to disturb promotion of Iran-Russia ties.
“We will not be surprised if the U.S. offers to construct new power plants in Iran in half of their real price, if U.S. officials see that Moscow will build them for the country,” Sajjadi said.
Iran is to increase the number of its nuclear power plants to help electricity generation to meet the country’s energy demands.
Sajjadi denied U.S. allegations that Iran was to develop nuclear weapons saying producing those weapons “has no place in Iran’s defensive doctrine.”
Referring to Iran’s complete cooperation with the International Atomic Energy Agency, the ambassador said that the IAEA’s inspectors had “free access” to Iran’s nuclear sites and facilities and the agency was fully informed of their activities.
As for the U.S. and Israeli threats against Iran, Sajjadi said, “Iran is not Iraq or Afghanistan. If the U.S. enters any adventurism against Iran, then we would threaten its interest worldwide.”
(Source: Tehran Times)
Speaking in an interview with the Russian newspaper Zavtra Online, the ambassador said Iran did not believe that the Russian side has deliberately delayed completion of the 1,000-MW power plant.
Based on the previously agreed timetable, the power plant which is being built in cooperation with Russia, was to become operational in fall of 2008. However its construction was delayed for various reasons including some difficulties occurred in delivering its remaining equipment and necessary fuel.
Sajjadi regretted that completion of the project has been prolonged.
“However, this was not only the fault of the Russian side, but some countries that should produce equipment of the power plants have, sometimes failed, surprisingly, to fulfill their commitments,” explained the ambassador.
He stressed that certain states would not miss a chance to disturb promotion of Iran-Russia ties.
“We will not be surprised if the U.S. offers to construct new power plants in Iran in half of their real price, if U.S. officials see that Moscow will build them for the country,” Sajjadi said.
Iran is to increase the number of its nuclear power plants to help electricity generation to meet the country’s energy demands.
Sajjadi denied U.S. allegations that Iran was to develop nuclear weapons saying producing those weapons “has no place in Iran’s defensive doctrine.”
Referring to Iran’s complete cooperation with the International Atomic Energy Agency, the ambassador said that the IAEA’s inspectors had “free access” to Iran’s nuclear sites and facilities and the agency was fully informed of their activities.
As for the U.S. and Israeli threats against Iran, Sajjadi said, “Iran is not Iraq or Afghanistan. If the U.S. enters any adventurism against Iran, then we would threaten its interest worldwide.”
(Source: Tehran Times)
Wednesday, December 10, 2008
Russia, India advance strategic partnership
Russia President Dmitry Medvedev paid an official visit to India on December 4-5. During his two-day maiden trip to India, Russia and India signed 10 agreements involving cooperation in such spheres as space technology, military, nuclear energy, tourism and financial business, including the deal on the construction of four more reactors at the Kudankulam Nuclear Power Station (NPS), located at Koodankulam in Tamil Nadu, south India. To date, the construction of two reactors has already completed at the Kudankulam Nuclear Power Project.
In the field of bilateral trade, Russia and India plan to lift their trade volume to 10 billion US dollars by the year 2010.
President Medvedev has been the first foreign head of state to visit India in the wake of the Mumbai terror attacks. Right after the terror attacks, the Russian government announced that there was no change in Medvedev's India visit plans. This shows the traditional and real bilateral partnership between Russia and India is deep-rooted and profound.
Russia and India are the traditional alliance. Out of their respective consideration of strategic interests, bilateral ties have been warmed up since the mid 1990s. And bilateral relations between the two countries have experienced sustainable, steady growth after Vladimir V. Putin became the Russian president. In 2000, Putin made his first ever visit to India, during which the Strategic Partnership Declaration was signed and the strategic partnership reached a new height.
In the new international situation and particularly with the global financial crisis as a backdrop, President Medvedev's India trip is of special significance. Due to a drastic drop in global oil prices, Russia's oil exports have been negatively affected. Hence, the expansion of the nation's economic and trade ties with India has become the important contents of the new Russian president's first visit to India.
Nuclear technology and military spheres are superior realms of Russia's India trade. In the field of nuclear matters, Russia and India signed an intergovernmental agreement on the construction of four more reactors, each worth 2 billion dollars. Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh hailed the landmark nuclear deal signed with Russia on Dec. 5th as a "milestone in the history of our cooperation"in the sphere of energy.
Meanwhile, President Dmitry Medvedev, who had signed the agreement for Russia to develop four more nuclear reactors in Tamil Nadu, said: "Today we have opened a new page"in bilateral relations.
Russia's swift conclusion of an accord on the construction of four more reactors is also related to exterior factors. In early October, the U.S. Senate voted to ratify the U.S.-India Agreement for Cooperation concerning Peaceful Use of Nuclear Energy. The deal would allow India to buy American nuclear reactors and fuel for the first time in more than 30 years. Under such circumstances, Russia would not be able to enjoy the right for monopolizing India's nuclear energy field. So it takes for granted that Russia will ink the deal with India soon afterwards.
Military cooperation poses a vital link of Russia-India ties. Traditionally, India has been a principal buyer of Russia-made weaponry. President Medvedev has attached great importance to cooperation in this sphere and, during his India trip the Russian president cited military cooperation as one of the most crucial fields in bilateral cooperation. What worthparticular mentioning here is that arms Russia has sold to India is always is the most sophisticated and the quality is much higher than that of those weapons it sold to other countries. It also indicates from one aspect an extraordinary strategic partnership forged between Russia and India.
As a matter of course, there are some differences between the two nations. Citing the problem regarding costs for revamping Admiral Gorshko aircraft carrier Russia sold to India, which remains unsettled, the India found it impossible to accept its refit costs, as Russia has raised or increased the quoted prices by a very big margin.
So, it can be acknowledged that President Medvedev's India trip has continued the bid power diplomacy, energy diplomacy and geopolitics diplomacy prompted or spurred by former Russian President Vladimir Putin. This has indeed deepened the Russian-Indian traditional and real strategic partnership and, beyond any doubt, it constitutes a vital cornerstone of Russia's Asia diplomacy.
Source: People's Daily Online
In the field of bilateral trade, Russia and India plan to lift their trade volume to 10 billion US dollars by the year 2010.
President Medvedev has been the first foreign head of state to visit India in the wake of the Mumbai terror attacks. Right after the terror attacks, the Russian government announced that there was no change in Medvedev's India visit plans. This shows the traditional and real bilateral partnership between Russia and India is deep-rooted and profound.
Russia and India are the traditional alliance. Out of their respective consideration of strategic interests, bilateral ties have been warmed up since the mid 1990s. And bilateral relations between the two countries have experienced sustainable, steady growth after Vladimir V. Putin became the Russian president. In 2000, Putin made his first ever visit to India, during which the Strategic Partnership Declaration was signed and the strategic partnership reached a new height.
In the new international situation and particularly with the global financial crisis as a backdrop, President Medvedev's India trip is of special significance. Due to a drastic drop in global oil prices, Russia's oil exports have been negatively affected. Hence, the expansion of the nation's economic and trade ties with India has become the important contents of the new Russian president's first visit to India.
Nuclear technology and military spheres are superior realms of Russia's India trade. In the field of nuclear matters, Russia and India signed an intergovernmental agreement on the construction of four more reactors, each worth 2 billion dollars. Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh hailed the landmark nuclear deal signed with Russia on Dec. 5th as a "milestone in the history of our cooperation"in the sphere of energy.
Meanwhile, President Dmitry Medvedev, who had signed the agreement for Russia to develop four more nuclear reactors in Tamil Nadu, said: "Today we have opened a new page"in bilateral relations.
Russia's swift conclusion of an accord on the construction of four more reactors is also related to exterior factors. In early October, the U.S. Senate voted to ratify the U.S.-India Agreement for Cooperation concerning Peaceful Use of Nuclear Energy. The deal would allow India to buy American nuclear reactors and fuel for the first time in more than 30 years. Under such circumstances, Russia would not be able to enjoy the right for monopolizing India's nuclear energy field. So it takes for granted that Russia will ink the deal with India soon afterwards.
Military cooperation poses a vital link of Russia-India ties. Traditionally, India has been a principal buyer of Russia-made weaponry. President Medvedev has attached great importance to cooperation in this sphere and, during his India trip the Russian president cited military cooperation as one of the most crucial fields in bilateral cooperation. What worthparticular mentioning here is that arms Russia has sold to India is always is the most sophisticated and the quality is much higher than that of those weapons it sold to other countries. It also indicates from one aspect an extraordinary strategic partnership forged between Russia and India.
As a matter of course, there are some differences between the two nations. Citing the problem regarding costs for revamping Admiral Gorshko aircraft carrier Russia sold to India, which remains unsettled, the India found it impossible to accept its refit costs, as Russia has raised or increased the quoted prices by a very big margin.
So, it can be acknowledged that President Medvedev's India trip has continued the bid power diplomacy, energy diplomacy and geopolitics diplomacy prompted or spurred by former Russian President Vladimir Putin. This has indeed deepened the Russian-Indian traditional and real strategic partnership and, beyond any doubt, it constitutes a vital cornerstone of Russia's Asia diplomacy.
Source: People's Daily Online
Saturday, December 6, 2008
Russia Russia, India to ink deals on arms, space, nuclear power
Russian President Dmitry Medvedev's current visit to India is expected to see the two countries sign a number of high-profile deals.
The Russian president arrived in India on Thursday on an official two-day visit to discuss bilateral ties amid the global financial crisis and anti-terrorist efforts in the aftermath of the recent Mumbai attacks that left 174 people dead.
Medvedev is being accompanied by a host of officials and businessmen from various state-run and private agencies and companies during his visit.
Rosoboronexport, the state-run arms exporter, said on Friday it would sign a contract on the delivery of 80 Mi-17 Hip military transport helicopters to the Indian air force.
Russian nuclear power chief Sergei Kiriyenko said Russia and India would sign an agreement to build another four reactors at the Kudankulam nuclear power plant and a protocol on the delivery of nuclear fuel worth $700 million to Indian nuclear power stations. The visit may also see the signing of an agreement for Russia to build new nuclear power plants in the country.
Russia's space agency said Moscow and New Delhi would sign a new document on cooperation in space exploration, which includes plans to send two Indian astronauts to space on board a Russian Soyuz spacecraft in 2013.
Russia's Statistics Service earlier said accumulated Indian investment in Russia totaled $821 million, including $718 million of foreign direct investment. Russia invested $18 million in India in the first half of 2008.
The two countries plan to increase trade to $10 billion by 2010 from this year's expected level of $7 billion, and diversify economic cooperation in the future.
(Source: RIA Novosti)
The Russian president arrived in India on Thursday on an official two-day visit to discuss bilateral ties amid the global financial crisis and anti-terrorist efforts in the aftermath of the recent Mumbai attacks that left 174 people dead.
Medvedev is being accompanied by a host of officials and businessmen from various state-run and private agencies and companies during his visit.
Rosoboronexport, the state-run arms exporter, said on Friday it would sign a contract on the delivery of 80 Mi-17 Hip military transport helicopters to the Indian air force.
Russian nuclear power chief Sergei Kiriyenko said Russia and India would sign an agreement to build another four reactors at the Kudankulam nuclear power plant and a protocol on the delivery of nuclear fuel worth $700 million to Indian nuclear power stations. The visit may also see the signing of an agreement for Russia to build new nuclear power plants in the country.
Russia's space agency said Moscow and New Delhi would sign a new document on cooperation in space exploration, which includes plans to send two Indian astronauts to space on board a Russian Soyuz spacecraft in 2013.
Russia's Statistics Service earlier said accumulated Indian investment in Russia totaled $821 million, including $718 million of foreign direct investment. Russia invested $18 million in India in the first half of 2008.
The two countries plan to increase trade to $10 billion by 2010 from this year's expected level of $7 billion, and diversify economic cooperation in the future.
(Source: RIA Novosti)
Thursday, November 20, 2008
Russian team visits Kudankulam nuclear project site
A high-level delegation led by S V Kirienko Director General of State Atomic Energy Corporation Russian Federation, visited the site where two Russian 1000 MW nuclear reactors are under construction in Kudankulam in Tamil Nadu.
According to official sources, the team, which visited the Kudankulam Nuclear Power Project(KNPP) site on Thursday, also inspected the site where four additional nuclear power reactors would be built.
Later, Mr Kirienko held talks with MR S K Jain Chairman and Managing Director of Nuclear Power Corporation of India (NPCIL) Ltd. Mr Kirienko appreciated the efforts put in by the Russian and Indian specialists as a joint team to complete the project.
According to the sources, construction and other works of UNIT-I of the KKNPP are at advanced stage, and the first reactor would reach criticality by April next. The enriched uranium fuel bundles, in ready-to-load condition and loading machine had reach ed Kundankulam.
The NPCIL had completed most of the work on building the first reactor. Recently two 220 kV gas insulated switchgear for the plant was charged, and would provide required power supply for commissioning the works, the sources said.
KNPP Project Director K C Purohit, Project Director, (KNPP 3 and four), K S Rao, and 17 Russian nuclear engineers also visited the two first two reactors around the plant, the sources added.
(Source: The Hindu Business Line)
According to official sources, the team, which visited the Kudankulam Nuclear Power Project(KNPP) site on Thursday, also inspected the site where four additional nuclear power reactors would be built.
Later, Mr Kirienko held talks with MR S K Jain Chairman and Managing Director of Nuclear Power Corporation of India (NPCIL) Ltd. Mr Kirienko appreciated the efforts put in by the Russian and Indian specialists as a joint team to complete the project.
According to the sources, construction and other works of UNIT-I of the KKNPP are at advanced stage, and the first reactor would reach criticality by April next. The enriched uranium fuel bundles, in ready-to-load condition and loading machine had reach ed Kundankulam.
The NPCIL had completed most of the work on building the first reactor. Recently two 220 kV gas insulated switchgear for the plant was charged, and would provide required power supply for commissioning the works, the sources said.
KNPP Project Director K C Purohit, Project Director, (KNPP 3 and four), K S Rao, and 17 Russian nuclear engineers also visited the two first two reactors around the plant, the sources added.
(Source: The Hindu Business Line)
Wednesday, November 19, 2008
Russia to build nuclear power plant in Venezuela
Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez announced that his country had reached a tentative agreement with Russia to build a nuclear reactor.
"A nuclear reactor, to produce energy for peaceful purposes, will soon be built in Estado Zulia and named in honor of a 20th century Venezuelan scientist, Humberto Fernandez Moran," the Venezuelan Ministry for Communication and Information quoted him as saying. The media report that the construction contract may be signed on November 26, during President Dmitry Medvedev's visit to Venezuela.
Although Chavez's flamboyant style is nothing new, it is worth analyzing the possible goals of the project and assessing how viable it is.
The history of South America's nuclear industry is about 50 years old but only Argentina and Brazil have nuclear reactors. In both cases, this is the peaceful tip of the military nuclear iceberg. Both have suspended their nuclear programs under the pressure of the world community, at least officially. They have regular light-water reactors, and Canadian heavy-water CANDUs. The United States, Canada, and Germany have played the main role in Latin America's peaceful nuclear programs.
Latin America is a potential growing-point for the Third World's nuclear industry. Brazil and Argentina are going to continue developing their nuclear industries. Chile has also declared its intention to obtain nuclear technologies.
Venezuela claims to be Latin America's third major power, and in this context its intention to go nuclear looks primarily like an ambitious political move. The oil-producing Venezuela does not need to develop a nuclear industry, unlike India or China, major importers of hydrocarbons. Brazil is also an oil producer but it is sometimes short of energy because of its rapid economic growth.
In short, for Venezuela, a nuclear reactor may simply be a military-political project. It is not likely to cope with a military nuclear program for two reasons. First, the light-water VVER model, which is the only technical solution for the Venezuelan project, is not suitable for military uses. Second, Venezuela does not have enough engineers who are qualified for the task.
It would be premature to expect technical aid from Russia at this point.
The Russian nuclear engineering is obviously overstrained. Recently, the growing number of export contracts for the construction of nuclear power plants abroad has jeopardized Russia's federal target program for the development of the nuclear industry. Russia has only one company that specializes in building nuclear reactors, Izhorskiye Zavody, and it is loaded with contracts for years to come.
It is hard to overestimate the political importance of Russia's peaceful nuclear expansion to the Third World, but Moscow should not forego the interests of its own nuclear industry. Paralyzed by the Chernobyl syndrome in the late 1980s, and the general crisis of the Soviet economic system, it requires overall reconstruction and development.
This makes the Venezuelan-Russian project seem like a political fantasy rather than an economically substantiated move. In the final count, neither side needs it. However, it may be used as a bargaining chip in the big game between the United States, the European Union, China, and Russia, which is now unfolding in Latin America.
Latin America is freeing itself from U.S. control. Its growing military and political ambitions are turning it into what it was, to a certain extent, in the 19th century - the testing grounds of the great powers. But there is one unpleasant detail: They are increasingly testing more and more dangerous toys.
(Source: RIA Novosti)
"A nuclear reactor, to produce energy for peaceful purposes, will soon be built in Estado Zulia and named in honor of a 20th century Venezuelan scientist, Humberto Fernandez Moran," the Venezuelan Ministry for Communication and Information quoted him as saying. The media report that the construction contract may be signed on November 26, during President Dmitry Medvedev's visit to Venezuela.
Although Chavez's flamboyant style is nothing new, it is worth analyzing the possible goals of the project and assessing how viable it is.
The history of South America's nuclear industry is about 50 years old but only Argentina and Brazil have nuclear reactors. In both cases, this is the peaceful tip of the military nuclear iceberg. Both have suspended their nuclear programs under the pressure of the world community, at least officially. They have regular light-water reactors, and Canadian heavy-water CANDUs. The United States, Canada, and Germany have played the main role in Latin America's peaceful nuclear programs.
Latin America is a potential growing-point for the Third World's nuclear industry. Brazil and Argentina are going to continue developing their nuclear industries. Chile has also declared its intention to obtain nuclear technologies.
Venezuela claims to be Latin America's third major power, and in this context its intention to go nuclear looks primarily like an ambitious political move. The oil-producing Venezuela does not need to develop a nuclear industry, unlike India or China, major importers of hydrocarbons. Brazil is also an oil producer but it is sometimes short of energy because of its rapid economic growth.
In short, for Venezuela, a nuclear reactor may simply be a military-political project. It is not likely to cope with a military nuclear program for two reasons. First, the light-water VVER model, which is the only technical solution for the Venezuelan project, is not suitable for military uses. Second, Venezuela does not have enough engineers who are qualified for the task.
It would be premature to expect technical aid from Russia at this point.
The Russian nuclear engineering is obviously overstrained. Recently, the growing number of export contracts for the construction of nuclear power plants abroad has jeopardized Russia's federal target program for the development of the nuclear industry. Russia has only one company that specializes in building nuclear reactors, Izhorskiye Zavody, and it is loaded with contracts for years to come.
It is hard to overestimate the political importance of Russia's peaceful nuclear expansion to the Third World, but Moscow should not forego the interests of its own nuclear industry. Paralyzed by the Chernobyl syndrome in the late 1980s, and the general crisis of the Soviet economic system, it requires overall reconstruction and development.
This makes the Venezuelan-Russian project seem like a political fantasy rather than an economically substantiated move. In the final count, neither side needs it. However, it may be used as a bargaining chip in the big game between the United States, the European Union, China, and Russia, which is now unfolding in Latin America.
Latin America is freeing itself from U.S. control. Its growing military and political ambitions are turning it into what it was, to a certain extent, in the 19th century - the testing grounds of the great powers. But there is one unpleasant detail: They are increasingly testing more and more dangerous toys.
(Source: RIA Novosti)
India first to get third-generation nuclear power plant
A new era of Russo-Indian nuclear co-operation is about to start. The head of Russia’s state nuclear corporation Rosatom Sergey Kirienko is going to India on Wednesday on the eve of President Medvedev’s first visit to Delhi in early December, when a major nuclear agreement between the two countries is expected to be signed.
The deal provides for the construction of four additional nuclear power units at Kudankulam, in addition to two other reactors that have almost finished construction.
Kudankulam nuclear power station is a joint project of the Russian state-run Atomstroyexport, which supplied two 1,000 megawatt light-water reactors, and the Nuclear Power Corporation of India Limited (NPCIL), which conduct the building and assembly jobs.
Its development started in 2002 on the basis of the 1988 bilateral agreement between India and the Soviet Union. The addition to this agreement was signed by India and Russia on June 21, 1998.
The two countries initiated the contract to build another four reactors in February 2008, and Sergey Kirienko said those plans could be realised as soon as the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) lifts a nuclear trade embargo India was under since 1974.
On August 1 2008, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Board of Governors approved India’s safeguards agreement, and in September the NSG agreed to lift the nuclear trade embargo on the country. Now there are no obstacles left, and NPCIL Chief Shreyans Kumar Jain has said to Russia’s RIA Novosti news agency he hopes the development of another four power units at Kudankulam will start in 2008 or in 2009.
The NSG was founded in 1974 by then main holders of nuclear technologies, in response to India’s nuclear test.
It is a 45-nation body – currently composed of all of the G8 countries, China, Brazil, Argentina, Ukraine, Belarus, Kazakhstan and others – aimed at reducing nuclear proliferation by controlling the trade in materials that may be used for nuclear weapon development and by improving safeguards and protection on existing materials.
The group decided lifting the embargo on India will not damage the current nuclear non-proliferation regime.
The motion to lift the embargo was proposed by the U.S., and it was the first to benefit, signing a huge civilian nuclear deal with India in October – shortly after sinking the nuclear deal with Moscow, which had been in negotiation for a decade, as a response to Russia’s military actions in the Caucasus in August.
However, India is not a signatory of the 1968 Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), but has nuclear weapons, yet does not possess the official status of a nuclear power.
(Source: Russia Today)
The deal provides for the construction of four additional nuclear power units at Kudankulam, in addition to two other reactors that have almost finished construction.
Kudankulam nuclear power station is a joint project of the Russian state-run Atomstroyexport, which supplied two 1,000 megawatt light-water reactors, and the Nuclear Power Corporation of India Limited (NPCIL), which conduct the building and assembly jobs.
Its development started in 2002 on the basis of the 1988 bilateral agreement between India and the Soviet Union. The addition to this agreement was signed by India and Russia on June 21, 1998.
The two countries initiated the contract to build another four reactors in February 2008, and Sergey Kirienko said those plans could be realised as soon as the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) lifts a nuclear trade embargo India was under since 1974.
On August 1 2008, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Board of Governors approved India’s safeguards agreement, and in September the NSG agreed to lift the nuclear trade embargo on the country. Now there are no obstacles left, and NPCIL Chief Shreyans Kumar Jain has said to Russia’s RIA Novosti news agency he hopes the development of another four power units at Kudankulam will start in 2008 or in 2009.
The NSG was founded in 1974 by then main holders of nuclear technologies, in response to India’s nuclear test.
It is a 45-nation body – currently composed of all of the G8 countries, China, Brazil, Argentina, Ukraine, Belarus, Kazakhstan and others – aimed at reducing nuclear proliferation by controlling the trade in materials that may be used for nuclear weapon development and by improving safeguards and protection on existing materials.
The group decided lifting the embargo on India will not damage the current nuclear non-proliferation regime.
The motion to lift the embargo was proposed by the U.S., and it was the first to benefit, signing a huge civilian nuclear deal with India in October – shortly after sinking the nuclear deal with Moscow, which had been in negotiation for a decade, as a response to Russia’s military actions in the Caucasus in August.
However, India is not a signatory of the 1968 Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), but has nuclear weapons, yet does not possess the official status of a nuclear power.
(Source: Russia Today)
Iran wants Bushehr operational in 2009
Iran plans to launch its first nuclear power plant in 2009, Reuters reported Tuesday.
The completion of the Bushehr plant, built by Russia under a $1 billion contract with the Islamic Republic, has been delayed more than once, mainly due to Iran lagging in payments. Moscow took over building the Bushehr plant on the site where an earlier nuclear project was started and neglected by German company Siemens in the wake of the Iran-Iraq War.
"The commissioning stage of Bushehr nuclear power station has begun and we are hopeful the power station will be commissioned in 2009 as per the agreement we have had with the Russian party," Reuters quoted Mohsen Delaviz, the spokesman for Iran's Atomic Energy Organization, as saying. He did not give a more precise date.
"There is a good environment prevailing in our relations with the Russians and we are hoping they will honor their commitments," he added.
Atomstroyexport, the Russian firm building the plant, said in September that the plant was nearing completion and that it would start "technological work" between December 2008 and February 2009 which would put the plant on an "irreversible final" course.
(Source: Jerusalem Post)
The completion of the Bushehr plant, built by Russia under a $1 billion contract with the Islamic Republic, has been delayed more than once, mainly due to Iran lagging in payments. Moscow took over building the Bushehr plant on the site where an earlier nuclear project was started and neglected by German company Siemens in the wake of the Iran-Iraq War.
"The commissioning stage of Bushehr nuclear power station has begun and we are hopeful the power station will be commissioned in 2009 as per the agreement we have had with the Russian party," Reuters quoted Mohsen Delaviz, the spokesman for Iran's Atomic Energy Organization, as saying. He did not give a more precise date.
"There is a good environment prevailing in our relations with the Russians and we are hoping they will honor their commitments," he added.
Atomstroyexport, the Russian firm building the plant, said in September that the plant was nearing completion and that it would start "technological work" between December 2008 and February 2009 which would put the plant on an "irreversible final" course.
(Source: Jerusalem Post)
Tuesday, November 11, 2008
Chavez boasts nuclear cooperation with Russia
President Hugo Chavez said that he was looking forward to signing nuclear cooperation agreements with Russia during an upcoming visit to Venezuela by Russian President Dmitry Medvedev.
""Atomic energy. Technology for Venezuela. We are going to have atomic reactors, and they'll soon accuse us of building 100 atomic bombs,"" Chavez told a rally of supporters a day after a Russian delegation left Caracas where it prepared for Medvedev's visit.
Chavez said he would sign nuclear cooperation agreements ""for peaceful purposes"" when Medvedev visits Caracas toward the end of November.
""It has to be said,"" Chavez said about his non-aggressive plans for nuclear energy, adding that the only ""giant and infinite atomic bomb"" Venezuela possessed was ""the morale and consciousness"" of the Venezuelan people.
The United States has already slammed Chavez for his arms deals with Moscow.
Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin was first to propose nuclear cooperation with Venezuela when Chavez visited Moscow in September.
Friday, the visiting Russian delegation of politicians and some 60 businessmen signed with Chavez 15 cooperation agreements in the financial, industrial, mining, aerospace, energy and telecommunications sectors.
Medvedev's visit will coincide with the arrival of a fleet of Russian warships that includes the nuclear-powered cruiser Pyotr Veliky (Peter the Great) for maneuvers in the Caribbean.
It would be the first time that Russian warships sail into the region since the end of the Cold War.
Venezuela and Russia were also due to finalize new arms purchases, including tanks and planes, according to sources from both countries.
They have signed 4.4 billion dollars in bilateral arms deals since 2005, including radars, 24 Sukhoi-30 planes, 50 helicopters and 100,000 Kalashnikov automatic rifles.
Chavez on Saturday said Venezuela's alliance with Russia ""has not come easily.
""It cost us a lot, but we're finally getting there,"" he said, adding that both countries have now become ""strategic allies.""
(Source: Tehran Times)
""Atomic energy. Technology for Venezuela. We are going to have atomic reactors, and they'll soon accuse us of building 100 atomic bombs,"" Chavez told a rally of supporters a day after a Russian delegation left Caracas where it prepared for Medvedev's visit.
Chavez said he would sign nuclear cooperation agreements ""for peaceful purposes"" when Medvedev visits Caracas toward the end of November.
""It has to be said,"" Chavez said about his non-aggressive plans for nuclear energy, adding that the only ""giant and infinite atomic bomb"" Venezuela possessed was ""the morale and consciousness"" of the Venezuelan people.
The United States has already slammed Chavez for his arms deals with Moscow.
Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin was first to propose nuclear cooperation with Venezuela when Chavez visited Moscow in September.
Friday, the visiting Russian delegation of politicians and some 60 businessmen signed with Chavez 15 cooperation agreements in the financial, industrial, mining, aerospace, energy and telecommunications sectors.
Medvedev's visit will coincide with the arrival of a fleet of Russian warships that includes the nuclear-powered cruiser Pyotr Veliky (Peter the Great) for maneuvers in the Caribbean.
It would be the first time that Russian warships sail into the region since the end of the Cold War.
Venezuela and Russia were also due to finalize new arms purchases, including tanks and planes, according to sources from both countries.
They have signed 4.4 billion dollars in bilateral arms deals since 2005, including radars, 24 Sukhoi-30 planes, 50 helicopters and 100,000 Kalashnikov automatic rifles.
Chavez on Saturday said Venezuela's alliance with Russia ""has not come easily.
""It cost us a lot, but we're finally getting there,"" he said, adding that both countries have now become ""strategic allies.""
(Source: Tehran Times)
Friday, November 7, 2008
Venezuela, Russia discuss nuclear energy, flights
Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez met with Russian officials on Thursday to discuss bilateral agreements on everything from nuclear energy to direct flights connecting Caracas to Moscow.
Russian Deputy Prime Minister Igor Sechin headed a delegation of business leaders visiting Venezuela to discuss development plans prior to Russian President Dimitri Medvedev's visit later this month.
"On Nov. 26 something historic will happen here," Chavez told state television from the meeting in the presidential palace. "For the first time, a Russian president will visit Venezuela."
Under the socialist leader, Venezuela has strengthened ties with Russia — purchasing more than $4 billion in weapons since 2005. A Russian naval squadron plans to visit Venezuela for military exercises this month, but both countries have insisted their intentions are peaceful.
"We have the possibility to form an alliance for the peaceful use of nuclear energy," Venezuelan Foreign Minister Nicolas Maduro said Thursday.
He said that the newly planned flight will connect Caracas directly to "the heart of Europe."
Sechin said that Russian aluminum company Rusal plans to build an aluminum-producing plant in Venezuela, and announced that Russia's state-run gas giant Gazprom will soon begin drilling for gas in the Gulf of Venezuela.
"In the coming days we will inaugurate the construction of a platform in the Gulf of Venezuela," Sechin said through an interpreter.
"We can say that our relations are taking on the characteristic of strategic partners," he said.
Chavez's government has said the joint venture with Venezuela's state-run oil company will kick off on Friday in Venezuela's gulf — home to 27 trillion cubic feet of gas.
Some contracts for the 46 agreements will be signed during the Russian delegation's visit and others upon Medvedev's arrival, Carrizalez said.
The agreements will cover areas including mining, infrastructure, energy, telecommunications, science and technology, space, agriculture, education, and transportation, he said.
(Source: AP)
Russian Deputy Prime Minister Igor Sechin headed a delegation of business leaders visiting Venezuela to discuss development plans prior to Russian President Dimitri Medvedev's visit later this month.
"On Nov. 26 something historic will happen here," Chavez told state television from the meeting in the presidential palace. "For the first time, a Russian president will visit Venezuela."
Under the socialist leader, Venezuela has strengthened ties with Russia — purchasing more than $4 billion in weapons since 2005. A Russian naval squadron plans to visit Venezuela for military exercises this month, but both countries have insisted their intentions are peaceful.
"We have the possibility to form an alliance for the peaceful use of nuclear energy," Venezuelan Foreign Minister Nicolas Maduro said Thursday.
He said that the newly planned flight will connect Caracas directly to "the heart of Europe."
Sechin said that Russian aluminum company Rusal plans to build an aluminum-producing plant in Venezuela, and announced that Russia's state-run gas giant Gazprom will soon begin drilling for gas in the Gulf of Venezuela.
"In the coming days we will inaugurate the construction of a platform in the Gulf of Venezuela," Sechin said through an interpreter.
"We can say that our relations are taking on the characteristic of strategic partners," he said.
Chavez's government has said the joint venture with Venezuela's state-run oil company will kick off on Friday in Venezuela's gulf — home to 27 trillion cubic feet of gas.
Some contracts for the 46 agreements will be signed during the Russian delegation's visit and others upon Medvedev's arrival, Carrizalez said.
The agreements will cover areas including mining, infrastructure, energy, telecommunications, science and technology, space, agriculture, education, and transportation, he said.
(Source: AP)
Russia to help in Vietnam civil nuclear program
Russia wants to take part in Vietnam's planned nuclear energy program, Russia's Deputy Foreign Minister Andrei Denisov said Thursday following talks with Vietnam's Foreign Minister Pham Gia Khiem in Hanoi.
"We know that such plans were made in Vietnam, very daring and far-reaching plans. We hope that Russia will be among those who will work with Vietnam in this hi-tech area and continue the traditions of our cooperation," Denisov said in an interview to the ITAR-TASS news agency.
Last week, Russia and Vietnam signed oil and gas deals after trade talks in Moscow between the countries' presidents, as part of a broader effort by Russia to regain Soviet-era influence in the region.
While trade between Russia and Vietnam has grown in recent years, Russia's clout in the Southeast Asian country is still a shadow of Soviet-era levels.
Russian trade turnover with Vietnam was set to reach 1.5 billion dollars in 2007, Medvedev said, a figure dwarfed by the annual trade turnover between Vietnam and the United States of over 10 billion dollars.
(Source: AFP)
"We know that such plans were made in Vietnam, very daring and far-reaching plans. We hope that Russia will be among those who will work with Vietnam in this hi-tech area and continue the traditions of our cooperation," Denisov said in an interview to the ITAR-TASS news agency.
Last week, Russia and Vietnam signed oil and gas deals after trade talks in Moscow between the countries' presidents, as part of a broader effort by Russia to regain Soviet-era influence in the region.
While trade between Russia and Vietnam has grown in recent years, Russia's clout in the Southeast Asian country is still a shadow of Soviet-era levels.
Russian trade turnover with Vietnam was set to reach 1.5 billion dollars in 2007, Medvedev said, a figure dwarfed by the annual trade turnover between Vietnam and the United States of over 10 billion dollars.
(Source: AFP)
Friday, October 31, 2008
Experts Say Next US President Must Deal With Tehran's Nuclear Program
Several American experts say the next U.S. president will have to confront the need to do something about Iran's nuclear enrichment program. They say efforts over the last five years to negotiate with Tehran have been ineffective, with Iran now closer to acquiring the technology to make an atomic bomb. VOA's Ravi Khanna has more on the story.
Tehran continues to defy the West, with Iranian President Ahmadinejad saying Iran has every right to enrich uranium and that it's for peaceful uses. The U.S. and other countries believe Iran is secretly developing nuclear weapons technology. The country's repeated missile tests are also a concern.
The next U.S. president will have to deal with Iran's nuclear program, the experts agree.
They say an attack on Iran's nuclear facilities would have widespread consequences, because a surgical strike is impossible. Iran's nuclear facilities are believed to be deep underground and dispersed.
Experts also believe U.N. sanctions have not and will not deter Iran.
Former U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, John Bolton, says Russian and Chinese backing for more sanctions is doubtful.
Russia helped build an Iranian nuclear power plant and has provided Iran with nuclear fuel. China needs Iran's oil and natural gas.
If Israel decides to attack Iran's nuclear facilities, as it did with Iraq, Bolton favors helping the Israelis with military equipment.
"It is risky, it may not succeed fully, or it may not succeed at all. There are undoubtedly consequences that Israel would face," Bolton said. "But I think from the Israeli point of view, and from the American point of view, however deeply unattractive the use of military force is, it is far more unattractive to contemplate an Iran with deliverable nuclear weapons."
But recently, Ehud Olmert, Israel's outgoing prime minister, said the assumption that Israel will attack Iran may not be realistic.
James Phillips at the Heritage Foundation says if the new U.S. president decides on a military option, he will have to answer three questions ahead of time.
"Do we have adequate intelligence to target the key parts of Iran's nuclear program, secondly, do we have the means to destroy those targets, and thirdly, how long a military strike is likely to delay Iran's efforts to attain nuclear weapons," Phillips asked.
David Albright is a physicist at the Institute for Science and International Security. He says the military option is not practical because Iran has several thousand nuclear centrifuges, which can be hidden over a wide area.
"We don't see how you can take out the Iranian program, short of full scale aerial bombardment that will go on for quite a while," Albright said. "There is a risk of pretty widespread war in that region."
Henry Sokolski at the Nonproliferation Policy Education Center prefers a cold war against Tehran even though it might take time.
The new president, he says, should open talks with Iran but widen their scope.
"I would focus on something where you have comparative advantage that Iranians claim they care about," Sokolski said. "They claim they want security guarantees."
Steps to guarantee Iran's security, he says, should be on the agenda.
(Source: VOA)
Tehran continues to defy the West, with Iranian President Ahmadinejad saying Iran has every right to enrich uranium and that it's for peaceful uses. The U.S. and other countries believe Iran is secretly developing nuclear weapons technology. The country's repeated missile tests are also a concern.
The next U.S. president will have to deal with Iran's nuclear program, the experts agree.
They say an attack on Iran's nuclear facilities would have widespread consequences, because a surgical strike is impossible. Iran's nuclear facilities are believed to be deep underground and dispersed.
Experts also believe U.N. sanctions have not and will not deter Iran.
Former U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, John Bolton, says Russian and Chinese backing for more sanctions is doubtful.
Russia helped build an Iranian nuclear power plant and has provided Iran with nuclear fuel. China needs Iran's oil and natural gas.
If Israel decides to attack Iran's nuclear facilities, as it did with Iraq, Bolton favors helping the Israelis with military equipment.
"It is risky, it may not succeed fully, or it may not succeed at all. There are undoubtedly consequences that Israel would face," Bolton said. "But I think from the Israeli point of view, and from the American point of view, however deeply unattractive the use of military force is, it is far more unattractive to contemplate an Iran with deliverable nuclear weapons."
But recently, Ehud Olmert, Israel's outgoing prime minister, said the assumption that Israel will attack Iran may not be realistic.
James Phillips at the Heritage Foundation says if the new U.S. president decides on a military option, he will have to answer three questions ahead of time.
"Do we have adequate intelligence to target the key parts of Iran's nuclear program, secondly, do we have the means to destroy those targets, and thirdly, how long a military strike is likely to delay Iran's efforts to attain nuclear weapons," Phillips asked.
David Albright is a physicist at the Institute for Science and International Security. He says the military option is not practical because Iran has several thousand nuclear centrifuges, which can be hidden over a wide area.
"We don't see how you can take out the Iranian program, short of full scale aerial bombardment that will go on for quite a while," Albright said. "There is a risk of pretty widespread war in that region."
Henry Sokolski at the Nonproliferation Policy Education Center prefers a cold war against Tehran even though it might take time.
The new president, he says, should open talks with Iran but widen their scope.
"I would focus on something where you have comparative advantage that Iranians claim they care about," Sokolski said. "They claim they want security guarantees."
Steps to guarantee Iran's security, he says, should be on the agenda.
(Source: VOA)
Tuesday, October 28, 2008
US Says Curbing Iran's Nuclear Program in Moscow's Interest
The U.S. State Department said Monday that working to curb Iran's nuclear ambitions is in Russia's own interest and not a favor to Washington. Moscow has threatened to cut back cooperation on Iran because of new U.S. non-proliferation sanctions on a Russian company. VOA's David Gollust reports from the State Department.
The State Department says Russia would only be harming its own interests if it follows through with a threat to curtail cooperation with other major powers on preventing Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons.
The Russian warning came from Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, who angrily protested a U.S. decision announced Friday to impose non-proliferation sanctions against 13 foreign companies including Russia's state arms exporter, Rosoboronexport.
A State Department announcement, published in the U.S. government's official journal, the Federal Register, did not specify charges against the Russian firm.
But it did say there was credible information that it violated U.S. laws curbing sales of weapons of mass destruction and missile technology to Iran, North Korea and Syria.
Rosoboronexport had previously been sanctioned in 2006 in a move protested by Moscow, and the decision Friday extends U.S. penalties against it for another two years.
Russian Foreign Minister Lavrov, at a news conference in Luxembourg Friday, called the U.S. sanctions against the Russian firm illegal and unjust, and said they undermine cooperation among the five permanent U.N. Security Council member countries and Germany, the P5+1 group, to get Iran to stop enriching uranium.
At a news briefing, State Department Spokesman Sean McCormack confirmed that Moscow had made a similar complaint about the sanctions move through diplomatic channels. He said Russia would only be harming itself if it cut back its role in the P5+1.
"This is not a favor to us. Iran having a nuclear weapon is not in Russia's interest. It is in nobody's interest. So, working diplomatically to see that they do not have the abilities and the know-how and the technologies and the hardware to solve some of the toughest problems that could lead to a nuclear weapon is in Russia's interest," he said.
State Department officials said the reasons for penalizing the Russian firm and the others were classified, but Lavrov indicated it had to do with Rosoboronexport dealings with Iran.
Lavrov said all Russian military-technical cooperation with Iran is in strict accordance with international law, and called the U.S. move an arrogant extra-territorial exercise of American law.
The action bars all U.S. government business dealings with the Russian company and its subsidiaries, and sales to them of U.S. military hardware and technology.
Other foreign entities named in the sanctions announcement are Iran's Revolutionary Guards Corps, three companies from China, two each from North Korea and Sudan, and one each from Syria, Venezuela, South Korea and the United Arab Emirates.
(Source: VOA)
The State Department says Russia would only be harming its own interests if it follows through with a threat to curtail cooperation with other major powers on preventing Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons.
The Russian warning came from Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, who angrily protested a U.S. decision announced Friday to impose non-proliferation sanctions against 13 foreign companies including Russia's state arms exporter, Rosoboronexport.
A State Department announcement, published in the U.S. government's official journal, the Federal Register, did not specify charges against the Russian firm.
But it did say there was credible information that it violated U.S. laws curbing sales of weapons of mass destruction and missile technology to Iran, North Korea and Syria.
Rosoboronexport had previously been sanctioned in 2006 in a move protested by Moscow, and the decision Friday extends U.S. penalties against it for another two years.
Russian Foreign Minister Lavrov, at a news conference in Luxembourg Friday, called the U.S. sanctions against the Russian firm illegal and unjust, and said they undermine cooperation among the five permanent U.N. Security Council member countries and Germany, the P5+1 group, to get Iran to stop enriching uranium.
At a news briefing, State Department Spokesman Sean McCormack confirmed that Moscow had made a similar complaint about the sanctions move through diplomatic channels. He said Russia would only be harming itself if it cut back its role in the P5+1.
"This is not a favor to us. Iran having a nuclear weapon is not in Russia's interest. It is in nobody's interest. So, working diplomatically to see that they do not have the abilities and the know-how and the technologies and the hardware to solve some of the toughest problems that could lead to a nuclear weapon is in Russia's interest," he said.
State Department officials said the reasons for penalizing the Russian firm and the others were classified, but Lavrov indicated it had to do with Rosoboronexport dealings with Iran.
Lavrov said all Russian military-technical cooperation with Iran is in strict accordance with international law, and called the U.S. move an arrogant extra-territorial exercise of American law.
The action bars all U.S. government business dealings with the Russian company and its subsidiaries, and sales to them of U.S. military hardware and technology.
Other foreign entities named in the sanctions announcement are Iran's Revolutionary Guards Corps, three companies from China, two each from North Korea and Sudan, and one each from Syria, Venezuela, South Korea and the United Arab Emirates.
(Source: VOA)
Tuesday, October 21, 2008
Big-Power Diplomats Discuss Iran Nuclear Issue
Senior diplomats of the five permanent U.N. Security Council member countries and Germany, the P5+1, conferred by telephone Monday on next steps in efforts get Iran to curb its nuclear program. It was the first six-party Iran discussion in nearly a month.
The State Department says the P5+1 political directors reaffirmed their commitment to the dual-track strategy of offering Iran incentives to stop enriching uranium and sanctions if it doesn't.
However, there was no claim of progress toward new U.N. Security Council sanctions against Iran for its defiance of demands to curb nuclear activity that U.S. and European officials say is weapons-related.
State Department Deputy Spokesman Robert Wood says Undersecretary of State for Political Affairs William Burns represented the United States in the conference call, the first joint conversation of the six powers on Iran since a ministerial-level meeting in New York late last month.
Wood said they discussed "the way forward" following a September 27 U.N. Security Council resolution pressing Iran for compliance on the nuclear issue and reaffirming terms of the three existing sanctions resolutions.
Wood said they agreed to remain in close touch on the issue, although there was no agreement on further political-director or ministerial meetings.
The spokesman rejected a press report depicting Monday's discussion as a failure, saying the meeting had no fixed agenda other than for the parties to talk. He said there is no recent sign of Iranian interest in accepting nuclear incentives.
"The P5+1has given Iran a generous package of incentives," said Robert Wood. "We encourage Iran every day to take up that package of incentives. We've offered them a pathway forward to better relations with the international community. The ball is in the Iranian court right now. Iran knows what it needs to do, and we all want to see that happen."
U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and their colleagues in the six-party group agreed on last month's resolution as a show of unity on Iran, despite tense relations between Washington and Moscow over Russia's recent military intervention in Georgia.
But the measure only reaffirmed existing sanctions because of Russian and Chinese opposition to additional penalties against Tehran.
Iran denies that it has nuclear weapons ambitions and says it has a right to enrich fuel for nuclear power plants.
Iranian parliamentary speaker Ali Larijani - the country's former chief nuclear envoy - said last week that Tehran wants to continue negotiations over its nuclear program but that it will not accept an end to uranium enrichment as a precondition for talks.
(Source: VOA)
The State Department says the P5+1 political directors reaffirmed their commitment to the dual-track strategy of offering Iran incentives to stop enriching uranium and sanctions if it doesn't.
However, there was no claim of progress toward new U.N. Security Council sanctions against Iran for its defiance of demands to curb nuclear activity that U.S. and European officials say is weapons-related.
State Department Deputy Spokesman Robert Wood says Undersecretary of State for Political Affairs William Burns represented the United States in the conference call, the first joint conversation of the six powers on Iran since a ministerial-level meeting in New York late last month.
Wood said they discussed "the way forward" following a September 27 U.N. Security Council resolution pressing Iran for compliance on the nuclear issue and reaffirming terms of the three existing sanctions resolutions.
Wood said they agreed to remain in close touch on the issue, although there was no agreement on further political-director or ministerial meetings.
The spokesman rejected a press report depicting Monday's discussion as a failure, saying the meeting had no fixed agenda other than for the parties to talk. He said there is no recent sign of Iranian interest in accepting nuclear incentives.
"The P5+1has given Iran a generous package of incentives," said Robert Wood. "We encourage Iran every day to take up that package of incentives. We've offered them a pathway forward to better relations with the international community. The ball is in the Iranian court right now. Iran knows what it needs to do, and we all want to see that happen."
U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and their colleagues in the six-party group agreed on last month's resolution as a show of unity on Iran, despite tense relations between Washington and Moscow over Russia's recent military intervention in Georgia.
But the measure only reaffirmed existing sanctions because of Russian and Chinese opposition to additional penalties against Tehran.
Iran denies that it has nuclear weapons ambitions and says it has a right to enrich fuel for nuclear power plants.
Iranian parliamentary speaker Ali Larijani - the country's former chief nuclear envoy - said last week that Tehran wants to continue negotiations over its nuclear program but that it will not accept an end to uranium enrichment as a precondition for talks.
(Source: VOA)
Monday, October 20, 2008
Nuclear deal with Russia to be inked in Dec
The stage is set for the inking of the civil nuclear deal between India and Russia, later this year when the Russian President Dmitry Medvedev visits New Delhi in December.
External affairs minister Pranab Mukherjee and his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov, who held talks here ahead of the first official visit of Medvedev to India, did the necessary groundwork for the signing of the nuclear pact that envisages Russia building four more atomic reactors in Tamil Nadu. The pact, agreed on during a visit by former Russian president Vladimir Putin in January 2007 and initiated early this year, will follow similar pacts signed with the US and France.
This will be the third bilateral nuclear pact which India will sign after the 45-nation Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) lifted an atomic embargo against New Delhi September 6.
(Source: The Financial Express)
External affairs minister Pranab Mukherjee and his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov, who held talks here ahead of the first official visit of Medvedev to India, did the necessary groundwork for the signing of the nuclear pact that envisages Russia building four more atomic reactors in Tamil Nadu. The pact, agreed on during a visit by former Russian president Vladimir Putin in January 2007 and initiated early this year, will follow similar pacts signed with the US and France.
This will be the third bilateral nuclear pact which India will sign after the 45-nation Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) lifted an atomic embargo against New Delhi September 6.
(Source: The Financial Express)
Russia to build 26 nuclear power reactors
Russia intends to build 26 major nuclear power reactors over twelve years to come, chief of the state-run corporation Rosatom, Sergei Kiriyenko, said.
"The pace of commissioning new nuclear power reactors is pegged to our current plans, but it can be adjusted in terms of scale and deadlines," he said.
"Construction work is underway at five sites (Leningrad, Novovoronezh, Kalinin, Rostov and Beloyarsk NPPs)," he said, adding that design and exploration work was in progress on another 14 reactor projects.
Russia has been working on a number schemes, including the invitation of private investors, for instance the Baltic NPP project in the Kaliningrad Region.
"That one is regarded as an integration project," he said. "It is called to address not so much Russian as pan-European energy issues."
"Alongside this Russia-designed nuclear power plants continue to be built outside the country. The expansion of this activity of ours has been underway in full compliance with the safety and reliability requirements," Kiriyenko said.
(Source: Hindustan Times)
"The pace of commissioning new nuclear power reactors is pegged to our current plans, but it can be adjusted in terms of scale and deadlines," he said.
"Construction work is underway at five sites (Leningrad, Novovoronezh, Kalinin, Rostov and Beloyarsk NPPs)," he said, adding that design and exploration work was in progress on another 14 reactor projects.
Russia has been working on a number schemes, including the invitation of private investors, for instance the Baltic NPP project in the Kaliningrad Region.
"That one is regarded as an integration project," he said. "It is called to address not so much Russian as pan-European energy issues."
"Alongside this Russia-designed nuclear power plants continue to be built outside the country. The expansion of this activity of ours has been underway in full compliance with the safety and reliability requirements," Kiriyenko said.
(Source: Hindustan Times)
Sunday, October 12, 2008
Russia has finances for nuclear power plant Belene
The financial crisis will not affect the Russian financing of the Belene nuclear power as the sum allocated for the construction is secured and the project is proceeding according to plan, says Economy and Energy Minister Petar Dimitrov, as quoted by Stroitelstvo.bg. By the end of the year, Russia will pay the first instalments for manufacturing the equipment required inside the plant.
At the end of the Bulgarian Russian Economic Commission, Russia said that the investment for the period 2008 – 2010 for the construction of Belene will be to 3.8 billion euro.
The Russian economics commission has assured Petar Dimitrov, Energy and Economics Minister, there will be no delay in constructing the plan, according to Stroitelstvo. By the end of October, the cooperative agreement between Gazprom and the Bulgarian government will be signed. Bulgargaz and Gazprom will hold talks to increase the supply of “blue” fuel for Bulgaria, as the country needs 500 million more cubic metres of gas annually, according to rough calculations.
A decision for the preparation of a new agreement for the disposal of expended nuclear fuel was been made earlier this year, in June in St. Petersburg. The most important change concerns transporting the fuel from Belene. As a consequence to the agreement, the Russian side had agreed to accept the used fuel.
It is expected that excavations for the Belene foundations will start by the end of this year, with the construction starting in 2009, according to the Energy Minister.
(Source: Sofia Echo)
At the end of the Bulgarian Russian Economic Commission, Russia said that the investment for the period 2008 – 2010 for the construction of Belene will be to 3.8 billion euro.
The Russian economics commission has assured Petar Dimitrov, Energy and Economics Minister, there will be no delay in constructing the plan, according to Stroitelstvo. By the end of October, the cooperative agreement between Gazprom and the Bulgarian government will be signed. Bulgargaz and Gazprom will hold talks to increase the supply of “blue” fuel for Bulgaria, as the country needs 500 million more cubic metres of gas annually, according to rough calculations.
A decision for the preparation of a new agreement for the disposal of expended nuclear fuel was been made earlier this year, in June in St. Petersburg. The most important change concerns transporting the fuel from Belene. As a consequence to the agreement, the Russian side had agreed to accept the used fuel.
It is expected that excavations for the Belene foundations will start by the end of this year, with the construction starting in 2009, according to the Energy Minister.
(Source: Sofia Echo)
Wednesday, October 1, 2008
Nuclear proliferation: Are we moving toward Cold War 2.0?
If you thought the Cold War was over—that long, nuclear standoff that shaped the last five decades of the 20th century—think again. Following his American counterpart, and perhaps prompted by new tensions over the war in Georgia and the agreement between the U.S. and Poland to deploy a missile defense system there, Russian president Dmitry Medvedev has announced plans to upgrade that country's "nuclear deterrent" by 2020.
It's part of a full upgrade for the Russian armed forces: more nuclear-powered subs, better bombs as well as their own "air and space defense network". "Star wars" has at last come to a galaxy not so far away.
The move prompted U.S. Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice to boast that the U.S. possesses an "extremely capable, robust, broad and indeed varied nuclear deterrent," according to an interview with Reuters. That no doubt includes not only the hit-or-miss missile defense effort but also plans to build new nuclear weapons and the industrial complex that develops and fabricates them.
At the same time, the U.S. has given its tacit approval to India's uninvited entry into the ever less exclusive nuclear weapons club; the House of Representatives approved a deal that would give India access to U.S. nuclear know-how for the first time since the Asian democracy exploded an atomic bomb in 1974.
The deal would neuter international treaties on nuclear testing and nonproliferation, according to critics, or simply make a special exception for India, according to proponents.
The deal is aimed only at bolstering India's nuclear power industry, a technology which other developing countries such as Egypt, Vietnam and even the oil-rich Persian Gulf states (especially Iran) have expressed interest in pursuing (or are pursuing). In order to fend off concurrent nuclear weapon proliferation—because running civilian nuclear reactors also produces the radioactive elements required for an atomic bomb—the science academies in both the U.S. and Russia argue in a new report that similar exceptions must be made for these countries.
Instead of allowing them to develop domestic nuclear capabilities, though, the scientists from the two leading nuclear powers argue that internationally controlled facilities should produce the world's fissile fuel—and take back the radioactive waste / bomb material at the end of its useful power-generating life.
In other words, the atomic age is approaching critical mass again.
(Source: Scientific American)
It's part of a full upgrade for the Russian armed forces: more nuclear-powered subs, better bombs as well as their own "air and space defense network". "Star wars" has at last come to a galaxy not so far away.
The move prompted U.S. Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice to boast that the U.S. possesses an "extremely capable, robust, broad and indeed varied nuclear deterrent," according to an interview with Reuters. That no doubt includes not only the hit-or-miss missile defense effort but also plans to build new nuclear weapons and the industrial complex that develops and fabricates them.
At the same time, the U.S. has given its tacit approval to India's uninvited entry into the ever less exclusive nuclear weapons club; the House of Representatives approved a deal that would give India access to U.S. nuclear know-how for the first time since the Asian democracy exploded an atomic bomb in 1974.
The deal would neuter international treaties on nuclear testing and nonproliferation, according to critics, or simply make a special exception for India, according to proponents.
The deal is aimed only at bolstering India's nuclear power industry, a technology which other developing countries such as Egypt, Vietnam and even the oil-rich Persian Gulf states (especially Iran) have expressed interest in pursuing (or are pursuing). In order to fend off concurrent nuclear weapon proliferation—because running civilian nuclear reactors also produces the radioactive elements required for an atomic bomb—the science academies in both the U.S. and Russia argue in a new report that similar exceptions must be made for these countries.
Instead of allowing them to develop domestic nuclear capabilities, though, the scientists from the two leading nuclear powers argue that internationally controlled facilities should produce the world's fissile fuel—and take back the radioactive waste / bomb material at the end of its useful power-generating life.
In other words, the atomic age is approaching critical mass again.
(Source: Scientific American)
Monday, September 29, 2008
Hugo Chavez wants Venezuela to build nuclear programme
Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez has announced he wants the country to develop a nuclear programme with the help of Russia. He insists, as do the Iranians, that it would be for purely peaceful purposes.
"We certainly are interested in developing nuclear energy, for peaceful ends of course, for medical purposes and to generate electricity," Mr Chavez said during a political rally of his United Venezuelan Socialist Party in Caracas. "Brazil has various nuclear reactors, as does Argentina. We will have ours and Vladimir [Putin, the Russian prime minister] said Russia is ready to help Venezuela develop nuclear energy."
The Venezuelan president recently returned from Moscow, where increasingly close ties were cemented with planned joint military exercises, energy accords and a Russian offer of a billion-dollar credit line to Venezuela for further arms purchases. Mr Chavez has already spent $4.4 bn on Russian aircraft, submarines and weapons. The Venezuelan president said he had forged a "profound friendship" with Mr Putin.
Colombia and other neighbours are worried by Mr Chavez. A source in the Colombian Defence Ministry said that intelligence reports suggested that while Mr Chavez had publicly called for Colombian rebels to lay down their arms, Caracas was still providing covert support for Colombian guerrillas.
"We know that there are still rebel camps on the Venezuelan side of the border and that the guerrillas move around with relative impunity," said the source, adding that the acquisition of nuclear weapons by Venezuela would destroy the balance of power in the region.
Mr Chavez has supported Iran's nuclear project and turned the Middle Eastern nation into a strategic partner, combining efforts to restrict oil production to keep prices high and engaging in joint economic ventures. Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad visited Caracas in September last year.
(Source: Telegraph.co.uk)
"We certainly are interested in developing nuclear energy, for peaceful ends of course, for medical purposes and to generate electricity," Mr Chavez said during a political rally of his United Venezuelan Socialist Party in Caracas. "Brazil has various nuclear reactors, as does Argentina. We will have ours and Vladimir [Putin, the Russian prime minister] said Russia is ready to help Venezuela develop nuclear energy."
The Venezuelan president recently returned from Moscow, where increasingly close ties were cemented with planned joint military exercises, energy accords and a Russian offer of a billion-dollar credit line to Venezuela for further arms purchases. Mr Chavez has already spent $4.4 bn on Russian aircraft, submarines and weapons. The Venezuelan president said he had forged a "profound friendship" with Mr Putin.
Colombia and other neighbours are worried by Mr Chavez. A source in the Colombian Defence Ministry said that intelligence reports suggested that while Mr Chavez had publicly called for Colombian rebels to lay down their arms, Caracas was still providing covert support for Colombian guerrillas.
"We know that there are still rebel camps on the Venezuelan side of the border and that the guerrillas move around with relative impunity," said the source, adding that the acquisition of nuclear weapons by Venezuela would destroy the balance of power in the region.
Mr Chavez has supported Iran's nuclear project and turned the Middle Eastern nation into a strategic partner, combining efforts to restrict oil production to keep prices high and engaging in joint economic ventures. Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad visited Caracas in September last year.
(Source: Telegraph.co.uk)
S. Korean leader arrives in Russia for nuclear, gas talks
South Korea's president arrived in Moscow on Sunday for a three-day visit expected to focus on the international standoff over North Korea's nuclear programme and energy ties.
South Korean President Lee Myung-Bak landed at Moscow's Sheremetyevo airport at 1:30 pm (0930 GMT).
Lee is scheduled to meet his Russian counterpart Dmitry Medvedev and Prime Minister Vladimir Putin on Monday, news agencies reported earlier, citing the South Korean embassy in Moscow.
His visit comes days after the UN's atomic energy watchdog said Pyongyang was about to restart a nuclear reprocessing plant and Seoul's foreign minister warned that six-party talks aimed at disarming North Korea were near breakdown.
"The future of the six-party talks will be discussed" at Lee's meetings with Russian officials, ambassador Lee Kyu-Hyung was quoted as saying in Moscow.
Lee also hopes to discuss building a gas pipeline linking Russia to South Korea, the ambassador said.
A pipeline delivering Russian gas to South Korea would have to pass through the communist North, which tested an atomic weapon in 2006.
Encouraged by the international community, Pyongyang began disabling its Yongbyon reactor last November, but halted work last month to protest a US refusal to drop it from a blacklist of countries supporting terrorism.
The International Atomic Energy Agency said Wednesday that North Korea had told the agency that it would restart nuclear reprocessing at Yongbyon, which is used to make weapons-grade material.
Russia -- along with South Korea, the United States, China and Japan -- is one of the five countries negotiating with Pyongyang to achieve nuclear disarmament in exchange for economic aid.
(Source: AFP)
South Korean President Lee Myung-Bak landed at Moscow's Sheremetyevo airport at 1:30 pm (0930 GMT).
Lee is scheduled to meet his Russian counterpart Dmitry Medvedev and Prime Minister Vladimir Putin on Monday, news agencies reported earlier, citing the South Korean embassy in Moscow.
His visit comes days after the UN's atomic energy watchdog said Pyongyang was about to restart a nuclear reprocessing plant and Seoul's foreign minister warned that six-party talks aimed at disarming North Korea were near breakdown.
"The future of the six-party talks will be discussed" at Lee's meetings with Russian officials, ambassador Lee Kyu-Hyung was quoted as saying in Moscow.
Lee also hopes to discuss building a gas pipeline linking Russia to South Korea, the ambassador said.
A pipeline delivering Russian gas to South Korea would have to pass through the communist North, which tested an atomic weapon in 2006.
Encouraged by the international community, Pyongyang began disabling its Yongbyon reactor last November, but halted work last month to protest a US refusal to drop it from a blacklist of countries supporting terrorism.
The International Atomic Energy Agency said Wednesday that North Korea had told the agency that it would restart nuclear reprocessing at Yongbyon, which is used to make weapons-grade material.
Russia -- along with South Korea, the United States, China and Japan -- is one of the five countries negotiating with Pyongyang to achieve nuclear disarmament in exchange for economic aid.
(Source: AFP)
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