MOSCOW, June 24. /TASS/. London’s intention to supply enriched uranium to Ukraine’s nuclear power plants demonstrates Britain’s wish to gain dubious political points, Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said on the ministry’s website.
"As we understand it, this refers to the planned supply of low-enriched uranium for the production of nuclear fuel for Ukrainian nuclear power plants. Currently, British company URENCO is one of the major suppliers of such products. We are not aware of Ukraine's industrial capacity for independent production of nuclear fuel, so we assume that the physical delivery of uranium will not be to Ukraine, but to one of the nuclear fuel production plants (most likely Westinghouse) in a third country," the diplomat noted.
"Based on London's statements, this deal is not related to the production of a radiation dispersing device, the so-called dirty bomb. Of course, a lot depends on the exporting state's ability to ensure that Kiev strictly complies with its obligations under the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT), and that Ukraine uses the supplied material for the intended purposes. In this case, it can be said that the supply does not undermine the international non-proliferation regime based on the NPT. The nuclear material must be placed under the IAEA's safeguards.
