ATOMIC CHIEF TO VISIT URANIUM ENRICHMENT CENTER
ITAR-TASS News Agency, Russia
June 21, 2007 Thursday 09:06 PM EST
Head of the Russian Atomic Power Agency (Rosatom) Sergey Kiriyenko
will visit on Friday the chemical enterprise in the city of Angarsk in
Irkutsk region, which is to become an international uranium enrichment
center for other countries under IAEA auspices.
Head of the enterprise Viktor Shopen said the plant has been
dealing with uranium enrichment for 50 years and has enough skilled
specialists, as well as free capacities.
Kiriyenko earlier said "the center will allow new countries receive
low-enriched uranium for nuclear power engineering".
The idea of such a center was voiced by President Vladimir Putin in
2006 to lift international concerns over possible A-bomb creation by
countries developing nuclear power engineering.
Kazakhstan and Ukraine are to be the first to join the creation of
the international center.
Earlier this month Kiriyenko said Russia and Kazakhstan will sign the
founding documents on the creation of the international center in June.
"In June we shall complete the legal formalities of the project. We
are in contact with the IAEA to design control mechanisms for the
project," he said.
He added a third party was necessary for the center to operate in
full swing. Kiriyenko suggested Armenia or Ukraine.
"Five or seven countries are displaying interest, if two or three
agree, we shall consider the mechanism as operating," Kiriyenko said.
In the meantime, Rosatom plans increasing uranium production in Chita
region on the border with China and Kiriyenko said 15 billion rubles of
investments were necessary to develop and modernize the Priargun mining
and chemical enterprise in the town of Krasnokamensk. Such investments
will help increase uranium production from three to five thousand tons.