Prime Minister Kevin Rudd will consider a report that has advised against the sale of uranium to Russia before the Federal Government makes a final decision on the matter.

Federal Parliament's Treaties Committee today recommended the Government delay ratifying a treaty to sell uranium to Russia because of fears about the country's nuclear weapons program.

The treaty was signed last year by the Howard government, and the deal is reportedly worth $1 billion a year.

Mr Rudd says he fears the West is approaching a turning point in its dealings with Russia.

"Obviously the global situation in relation to the Russian Federation is now complex as a result of what we have seen in Georgia and most particularly in Southern Ossetia," he said.

"We'll be working closely with international governments on the best response to the Russians.

"This is again a very difficult challenge for the global order."

After examining the proposal, the majority Labor members on the Treaties Committee say it should be torn up if eight stringent conditions cannot be met, including the separation of Russia's civil and military nuclear facilities and the resumption of International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) inspections of facilities that will take Australian uranium.

Committee members had earlier expressed fears that Russia could use Australian uranium as part of its nuclear weapons program, though Coalition Senators have issued a dissenting report saying that the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty provides safeguards against Russia's use of uranium for military use.

They also say nuclear power might help Russia lower its greenhouse gas emissions.

Committee chair and Labor MP, Kelvin Thomson, said the Liberal Party was having a bet each way with the international atomic inspections body.

"When we went to war in Iraq, the Liberal Party insisted that we were at risk from weapons of mass destruction and advanced the notion of preventive war," he said.

"This was a massive vote of no confidence in the IAEA. But now this same Liberal Party says the IAEA will ensure that nothing goes wrong, and this despite the IAEA not having carried out any inspection in Russia since at least 2001 and probably longer.

"The Liberal Party is so hungry for the uranium export dollars that they want to believe nothing can go wrong. They are prepared to turn a blind eye to what happens after we sell the uranium to Russia."

Second thoughts

The Russians have already sensed that Australia is having second thoughts on the agreement with the country's ambassador paying a visit to Foreign Minister Stephen Smith earlier this month, and saying that Australia's economic interests could be harmed if the deal was not ratified.

The dissenting Liberals included Victorian Senator Julian McGauran. He said the majority members of the committee had gone on a "frolic".

"They don't rely on the experience and expertise of the departments, they have instead relied upon what I would classify as some extreme anti-nuclear groups," he said.

The tabling of the report led to some heated exchanges in the Senate.

Liberal Senator Simon Birmingham mocked the Government for taking different stands with different countries.

"China is OK. Well, we'd expect that from the Prime Minister that China would be an OK destination for uranium. India though, no, no, no, certainly not India, India wouldn't be OK at all. And yet now today we discover today with the tabling of this treaty Russia, we're not sure. That's right we're not sure," he said.

"China's OK, India's not and Russia, well, it seems the Government is having a bob each way. Because the left wing-dominated members of this Treaties Committee, they've said no, they've said no way," Senator Birmingham added, calling for clarification from the Government.

The committee also points to Russia's recent conflict with Georgia, saying that action underlines concerns that Moscow cannot be trusted, even though it is a signatory to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty.

Greens Senator Christine Milne cites Russia's human rights record as another reason to rip-up the agreement.

"It was very clear leading up to APEC last year that the Russians were receding from any notion of democracy and engagement but instead were going back to the old KGB days," she said, going on to accuse the Liberal Party of seeking profits over human rights and failing to understand climate change issues.

The Foreign Affairs Minister, Stephen Smith, says the Government will consider the committee's report before making a final decision.

Mr Smith says the Government will also take into account the events in Georgia, and Australia's bilateral relationship with Russia.