MOSCOW, January 22. /TASS/. The discussed ban on purchases of the Russian nuclear fuel will definitely affect economic indicators of the European energy segment and jeopardize nuclear safety, Rosatom CEO Alexey Likhachev told reporters.
"There is no doubt the ban on Russian fuel will hit economic indicators of the European nuclear energy segment," Likhachev said. "The most important is that the safety issue will also be jeopardized because fuel is the main, the core element of nuclear cycle functioning. The key issue of nuclear and radiation safety directly depends on it," he noted.
The safety issue also gives rise to concerns of the international nuclear regulator, Likhachev stressed. "We have concerns in this regard, the IAEA has concerns in this aspect. But I nevertheless look forward to the common sense to prevail over the desire to increase the number of anti-Russian sanctions. This issue is so politicized, this initiative is so politicized that there has been no sense left in it," he noted. "Just bare reporting on the number of sanctions against Russia," Likhachev stressed.
The European Commission is preparing the ban on the Russian nuclear fuel after approved prohibition for EU countries to buy Russian gas since 2027, Commission Spokesperson Anna-Kaisa Itkonen said on January 27.