A Russia-U.S civilian nuclear cooperation deal will help Russian companies enter the U.S. nuclear technology market and allow nuclear operators from both countries to gain access to unique reactor-building and nuclear fuel technologies, Russian experts said.
U.S. President Barack Obama resubmitted on May 10 the deal, also known as the 123 agreement, to the U.S. Congress for approval. The agreement was first submitted two years ago by the Bush administration but was withdrawn after the Russia-Georgia war over South Ossetia in August 2008.
"There are a number of joint ventures, like testing Russian fuel in U.S. reactors, which cannot be carried out until the U.S. Congress approves this agreement," advisor to the director of the Kurchatov nuclear scientific center Andrei Gagarinsky said, adding that the deal was important for both sides.
Gagarinsky said Russia and the United States have until now cooperated under separate agreements, but a framework agreement was needed to establish the basic principles of cooperation and create conditions for trade in civilian nuclear energy between Russia and the United States.
General director of the NIKIET Research and Development Institute of Power Engineering Yuri Dragunov said the agreement suggested mutual interest in bilateral cooperation.
He said the U.S. side had expressed interest in a multifunctional rapid research reactor, which Russian specialists will "be able to develop within the framework of a program for new-generation nuclear energy technologies."
MOSCOW, May 19 (RIA Novosti)
