"One of the main concerns of Russia and the United States relates to non-proliferation of nuclear weapons," Vladimir Putin told an annual news conference in the Kremlin.
"We are in a difficult situation where many countries want, and plan to, develop nuclear power. There is a subtle boundary between the development of nuclear energy and non-proliferation issues, as it is hard to control the level of military uranium enrichment," he said.
Russia and the U.S. "have therefore almost simultaneously put forward a similar initiative to create a network of international uranium enrichment centers, which will take responsibility for the disposal of nuclear waste."
Putin proposed the idea of international uranium enrichment centers early last year, as a means of calming international tensions over Iran's nuclear program.
Last October, Russia and Kazakhstan established their first joint venture to enrich uranium in Angarsk, near Irkutsk, eastern Siberia.
Kazakhstan holds 15% of the world's uranium reserves and has an expanding mining sector, which aims to reach an annual production of 15,000 tons of uranium by 2010. Under the Soviet system, Russia and Kazakhstan shared a nuclear power infrastructure under the Ministry of Medium Machine Building.
