Saturday, 8 September, 2007

AFP

Russia on Friday joined a rush by nuclear powers for access to Australia's huge uranium reserves as President Vladimir Putin signed a landmark deal to import the strategic fuel.

The agreement he signed with Prime Minister John Howard came just months after Australia ratified a deal to sell uranium to China to feed its voracious appetite for energy.

Also in the queue is fellow Asian giant India, with Howard announcing last month that he had struck an agreement in principle with his Indian counterpart Manmohan Singh to sell uranium to New Delhi.

In each case Howard has stressed that stringent safeguards would be put in place to ensure the uranium is not used in nuclear weapons, but each has also marked a significant break with past policies.

"Any uranium that is sold to Russia will be sold under very strict safeguards," he said after meeting the Russian leader in Sydney, where both will attend a weekend Asia Pacific summit.

"This new agreement will allow the supply of Australian uranium for use in Russia's civil nuclear power industry and provide a framework for broader cooperation on peaceful nuclear-related activities," he said.

Both Howard and Putin dismissed concerns that Russia would sell Australian uranium to third countries such as Iran.

"I simply don't understand what people are talking about," Putin said, pointing out that Russia already exports large quantities of enriched uranium for military use, including 30 tonnes a year to the United States.

"We are buying uranium from Australia for purely economic reasons."

Putin was due to meet later in the day with US President George W. Bush but the United States has already said it is not concerned about the uranium deal.

Russia already had a large stockpile of nuclear weapons and the uranium was unlikely to end up in Iranian hands, US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice told Australian television on Wednesday.

"This isn't an issue for us. The Russians have plenty of weapons, let's be realistic about it. The Cold War produced more than a surplus."

Howard is a strong supporter of the US president and has made it clear the deal with India depends on implementation of a landmark civilian nuclear deal between New Delhi and Washington.

The United States backs Australian exports to India, but critics point out that the agreement means scrapping Australia's policy of refusing exports to countries which have not signed the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT).

Howard, however, has said many Australians would find it "strange" that it was acceptable to sell uranium to China -- which has signed the NPT -- but not to India.

An irony in all the deals is that Australia does not have a nuclear energy programme of its own, although Howard has been talking up the prospect recently as an answer to global warming.

He has also pointed to the economic benefits of exporting uranium. No details were given of the value of exports to Russia, but a senate committe last year was told that the deal with China was worth some 250 million dollars (205 million US) a year.

Environmentalists have opposed all the deals, and Greenpeace said Friday the agreement with Russia meant Australia could be helping fuel nuclear proliferation.

"The primary danger is that by supplying Australian uranium to Russia nuclear plants, it frees up Russia to do whatever it pleases with its own deposits," said the group's Australian chief Steve Shallhorn.