Russia’s Rosatom holds nuclear safety consultations with US energy officials

MOSCOW, March 18. /TASS/. Russian civilian nuclear power corporation Rosatom and the US Department of Energy held technical consultations at the expert level on Wednesday, the Rosatom press office reported. The meeting discussed the implementation of the Russian-US intergovernmental agreement on cooperation as part of the multilateral nuclear environmental program in Russia. "Special attention during the meeting was paid to the fulfillment of existing nuclear safety contracts," Rosatom said in a statement. The Framework Agreement on a Multilateral Nuclear Environmental Program in the Russian Federation was signed in Stockholm in May 2003. The Framework Agreement was signed by Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Norway, Russia, Sweden, the United Kingdom, the United States, the European Union and the European Atomic Energy Community. The Agreement aims to provide an international legal framework for cooperation in enhancing nuclear and radiation safety in north-west Russia. The member states also signed a Protocol on Claims, Legal Proceedings and Indemnification. Experts of Rosatom and the US Department of Energy held their consultations for the first time after the United States informed the Russian nuclear power corporation it was suspending some cooperation projects in the field of the peaceful use of atomic energy. The US said it was suspending some technical meetings, in particular, on scientific issues over Russia’s stance on developments in neighboring Ukraine. Rosatom said at the time it considered this step as erroneous and contradicting the constructive spirit that had existed in relationships with the US Department of Energy in recent years. Read more