Kazakhstan proposes hosting nuclear fuel bank - 2

Kazakhstan has offered the UN nuclear watchdog its territory to set up a nuclear fuel bank, the president said on Monday at a joint press conference with Iran's leader.

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ASTANA, April 6 (RIA Novosti) - Kazakhstan has offered the UN nuclear watchdog its territory to set up a nuclear fuel bank, the president said on Monday at a joint press conference with Iran's leader.

"If a nuclear fuel bank is created for the nuclear power industry, Kazakhstan could consider the possibility of placing it on our territory, as a country that signed the Non-Proliferation Treaty and voluntarily gave up nuclear weapons," Nursultan Nazarbayev said.

In September 2008, the United States said it would allocate $50 million to create a nuclear fuel bank under the International Atomic Energy Agency, and called on all countries to invest funds for the purpose.

Some countries have already made the decision to allocate $5-10 million for this task.

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said he backed Nazarbayev's idea, saying: "We believe Nazarbayev's proposal to create a nuclear fuel bank in Kazakhstan is a very good proposal."