VIENNA, September 20 (Itar-Tass) —— A joint statement on strategic cooperation between Russia and the USA was signed today in the Austrian capital on the sidelines of the ongoing session of the General Conference of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). The document was signed by the chief of the state corporation Rosatom, Sergei Kiriyenko and U.S. Energy Secretary Steven Chu.
"With the entry into force of the agreement between the government of the Russian Federation and the government of the United States on cooperation in the peaceful uses of nuclear energy,” the statement says, “there has begun a new era, which opens up wide opportunities for cooperation between the two countries on a wide range of issues of nuclear energy, science and technology cooperation and nuclear safety."
The document is divided into five sections, covering, inter alia, cooperation in new fields of nuclear energy and nuclear safety in the commercial sphere, in the management of spent nuclear fuel and radioactive waste, as well as in science and engineering.
The U.S. energy secretary welcomed the signing of the declaration which, he says, opens up new horizons for bilateral cooperation in nuclear energy and the development of partnership between research organizations in the U.S. and Russia.
"The agreement,” Kiriyenko said in turn, “is expanding our cooperation, including with respect to future scientific developments." Russia and the United States show an example of taking practical steps to reduce the nuclear threat.
"This applies to the disposal of highly enriched uranium and an agreement on the disposal of surplus weapons-grade plutonium, and to the establishment of warranty reserves of fuel," said the head of Rosatom.