MOSCOW, February 12. /TASS/. Rosatom has a long and fruitful history of cooperation with France in the area of nuclear technology, and relations in this area can be described as exemplary, Chief Executive Officer of the Russian state corporation Rosatom Alexey Likhachev told the sectoral Strana Rosatom (Rosatom Country) newspaper.
"We have long and fruitfully cooperated with France in the area of nuclear technology. Our relations in this field can be called exemplary. After all, we have learned to build them in a wide variety of political and historical contexts. And most importantly, it has always been mutually beneficial. In particular, deliveries of Soviet enriched uranium in the 1970s, at the height of the Cold War, largely ensured the development of France’s nuclear energy. The French built nuclear reactors knowing they would have the resources to produce nuclear fuel," the publication quoted Likhachev as saying.
Cooperation with France has not ceased even today, he noted, adding that the ITER fusion reactor, a major international project being implemented in France’s Cadarache, is the best example. "Russia is not only one of ITER's ideological inspirers, but also the largest supplier of equipment for it. And, to the credit of ITER's management, despite all the political upheaval, Russia's participation in the project remains unquestioned. We have much work to do: the nuclear fuel cycle, equipment supplies for our nuclear units in third countries, and much more. But whether these plans are destined to come true depends primarily on the position of the European Union and France," Likhachev said.