BEIJING, May 16. /TASS/. The US law banning imports of Russian uranium will not cause problems, CEO of Rosatom Alexey Likhachev said.
"I would say that from the point of view of our economic indicators, such, I would call it a ‘theoretical’ ban on the sale of uranium, will not cause any problems," Likhachev told reporters. He explained that he called the ban theoretical, since it has many loopholes.
Likhachev admitted that the Russian side is worried about it, but not too much. "The demand for Rosatom’s uranium products in the world is constantly growing. At a minimum, all of our nuclear power plants under construction require Russian fuel and therefore Russian uranium," he said. According to Likhachev, Rosatom has an extended program for the construction of nuclear power plants in Russia, "taking into account the president’s orders to reach 25% of nuclear power generation in 2040s."
It was reported earlier that US President Joe Biden signed a decree banning imports of uranium from Russia into the United States. According to the White House press service statement, Biden signed an executive order on Monday prohibiting the import of non-irradiated, low-enriched uranium produced in Russia or by a Russian company.
On April 30, the United States Senate passed legislation prohibiting imports of enriched uranium from Russia. However, in extreme situations, in the absence of other supplies of uranium to keep US reactors operational, or if such purchases are in the "national interest," the law permitted purchases to continue until January 2028. The legislation also required the Department of Energy to investigate and report to Congress on options for replacing Russian uranium supplies.