Install

Get the latest updates as we post them — right on your browser

Today's paper. Last Updated: 06/04/2012

Russia Slams U.S. Uranium Plan

Russia said Wednesday that its multibillion dollar sell-off of uranium stockpiles to the United States was heading for trouble because of U.S. pressure for sharply lower prices.


First Deputy Nuclear Power Minister Vitaly Konovalov told Interfax that Washington was demanding cuts of up to half in the price of uranium from scrapped weapons.


Konovalov did not say how much Russia wanted for its uranium, but said Washington was "not very interested in buying Russian uranium" and was trying to renegotiate the price to offer "absolutely unprofitable conditions," Interfax reported.


The deal was struck in outline by presidents Bill Clinton and Boris Yeltsin in Moscow in January 1994. The government-owned U.S. Enrichment Corporation, or USEC, put the price tag at $12 billion -- $10 billion for Russia, the rest for Ukraine.


U.S. Energy Undersecretary Charles Curtis said Tuesday the United States was confident it could resolve disputes over the 20-year deal and hoped to complete a proposal by June 29 that would solve problems. Under the contract, aimed to help Russia and Ukraine trim their ex-Soviet nuclear arsenal, USEC is to buy about 15,000 metric tons of low-enriched uranium converted from weapons-grade uranium.




This article has no comments.

Be the first to leave a comment


Discussion
The Moscow Times welcomes your comments and invites you to discuss topics with other readers. Your comment will be posted automatically to enable a live discussion. If you aren't familiar with our comments policy, you can read it here.

If you're a registered user, you can start typing your comment below. If not, take a moment to sign up. and then return to the article.

If your comment doesn't appear, contact us by using our web form.

Comments

Comments via Facebook



print


Comments

This article has no comments.

Be the first to leave a comment





Most Read