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Russia, US eye deal on nuclear cooperation

Xinhua, June 27, 2012

• Moscow and Washington have completed the drafting of a new cooperation agreement on peaceful use of nuclear energy, which was likely to be signed in September, Russia's state atomic agency Rosatom said Tuesday.

  After talks with U.S. Secretary of Energy Daniel Poneman in Moscow, Rosatom head Sergei Kirienko said the intergovernmental agreement on scientific and technical nuclear cooperation could be signed during the general conference of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) in Vienna, Austria.

  According to Kirienko, the agreement envisages that Russian and the U.S. scientists would obtain access to nuclear research facilities in each other's country and cooperate in innovations and other related areas.

  Kirienko also said the two sides would jointly develop fast- breeder nuclear reactors and low- and medium-power reactors.

  In January 2011, Russia and the U.S. have already signed the Agreement for Cooperation in the Field of Peaceful Uses of Nuclear Energy, also known as the 123 Agreement.

  "Without this document, we would not have been able to implement the accords reached earlier and draft the current agreement on scientific and technical cooperation," Kirienko said.

  In his part, Poneman said the two countries will also work together to promote the safety of existing reactors, improve the structure of future units, and increase the fuel efficiency.

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