MOSCOW, November 21 (Sputnik) – Russia has signed a contract with Ukraine to deliver nuclear fuel for the country's nuclear energy plants in 2015, the head of Russian nuclear agency Rosatom said Friday.
"A contract for 2015 has been signed to deliver fuel for Ukraine's nuclear energy facilities," Sergei Kirienko said in a speech before a student assembly in Moscow.
The head of the Russian nuclear agency stressed that supplies of nuclear fuel to Ukraine had not been held up even once and shipments have been delivered to Ukraine as scheduled.
In September, Ukraine gave the green light to its nuclear power plants to receive supplies of upgraded nuclear fuel from the US company Westinghouse, a move criticized by Rosatom as a political one.
The conflict in Ukraine soured its relations with Russia, including cooperation on nuclear energy.
Following the row, Kirienko said in April that Rosatom was not against competitive rivalry with other fuel producers, but disapproved of putting the country's nuclear security at stake.
Ukraine's switch from Russian to American nuclear fuel for some of its power plants raised security concern after the fuel sourced from Westinghouse had dangerously malfunctioned at power plants in the Czech Republic and Ukraine.
Previously, a Czech nuclear power plant operating Soviet-designed reactors experienced depressurization with the Westinghouse fuel, leading to its suspension of cooperation with the company in 2006.
