Federation Council of Russia ratifies Additional Protocol between Russia and IAEA

19.09.2007 // ITAR-TASS

Today the Federation Council of Russia ratified an IAEA-Russia additional protocol to IAEA-USSR Nuclear Safeguards Agreement

The protocol was signed in Vienna on Mar 22 2000. It envisions a number of additional organizational and technical measures to control civilian nuclear activity among members to Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty

By ratifying the protocol Russia has committed itself – just like the other nuclear powers — to actively help the IAEA to control the peaceful use of nuclear materials in states having no nuclear weapons of their own. Particularly, Russia has pledged to inform IAEA about its nuclear export (including the export of special equipment and materials) to non-nuclear states, its cooperation with non-nuclear states in the field of nuclear fuel production and the export of waste containing plutonium, highly-enriched uranium or uranium-233.

The states having nuclear weapons have the right to decide which of the measures specified in the protocol they should take in order to contribute to the nuclear non-proliferation regime.

112 states have signed the protocol so far; 78 of them have ratified it. Among them are China, France, the UK. In the US the protocol is being prepared for enactment.

State Duma approved the protocol on Sept 14 2007.