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Russia against nuclear fuel cycles in countries with undeveloped nuclear industries - Ministry

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MOSCOW, July 12 (RIA Novosti) - Russia believes it impractical to set up national nuclear fuel cycles in countries without developed nuclear power industry, a nuclear expert told RIA Novosti Tuesday.

Speaking in the run-up to an international conference on nuclear fuel cycles and nonproliferation in Moscow on July 13-15, an expert from the Federal Nuclear Power Agency (Rosatom) said: "Russia's position on this issue has not changed at all. We believe it is economically inexpedient to create nuclear fuel cycles in countries without developed nuclear industries."

The expert said Russia was ready to "provide services to states establishing their own nuclear power industries."

He continued: "We are prepared to build nuclear power plants for other countries, produce fuel for a nuclear power plant's service life and take back spent nuclear fuel at world prices."

Earlier Rosatom head Alexander Rumyantsev said he did not support Iran's plans to develop a nuclear fuel cycle "for economic reasons."

The international conference in Moscow, organized by Rosatom and the International Atomic Energy Agency, will consider nuclear fuel cycle technology, guarantees of nuclear nonproliferation and support for the nuclear power industry. Prospects to create an international center in Russia to deal with spent nuclear fuel will be discussed.

The Rosatom representative said Russia could implement the project.

The nuclear fuel cycle includes production processes from uranium production to removing radioactive waste. Uranium ore deposits and capacities to process them are mainly located in Canada, Kazakhstan, Australia, Namibia, Niger and South Africa. Only Canada has its own nuclear power capacities.

The United States, France, Britain and Russia can produce enriched uranium and nuclear fuel. Plants to process spent nuclear fuel are located in France, Britain and Russia.

The Rosatom expert said world prices for uranium had more than doubled in the last two years.

"Russia, as all the main countries with nuclear power industries, consumes more uranium than it produces," he said. "We cover the fuel volumes necessary for Russia from state reserves created in Soviet times." The source said exploration work in Russia to seek new uranium deposits needed to be expanded.

"Global annual consumption of uranium reaches 65,000 metric tons, but only 35,000 tons are produced. The remainder comes from uranium released during disarmament, and from stored reserves," the expert said.

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