Russia and representatives from several European nations and insitutions signed an agreement yesterday to clear the way for Russia to receive assistance dismantling its nuclear submarines and disposing of the subsequent nuclear waste.

Signed in Stockholm, the Multilateral Nuclear Environmental Program for the Russian Federation resolves long-standing tax and liability issues that have hindered European assistance efforts.

“Concluding this agreement is an important step.  It will allow us to make available 40 million euro for projects tackling the pressing issue of nuclear waste cleanup in Northwestern Russia,” said European Union spokesman Chris Patten (European Union release, May 21).

There are 100 decommissioned Russian submarines, carrying 8,000 nuclear fuel assemblies, rusting in the waters off the Kola Peninsula in Northwest Russia, Interfax reported.

Negotiations on the agreement lasted for more than three years, with a major issue being the taxation of foreign participants involved in projects under the agreement.  Last month, Russia decided to exempt these entities from taxation, leading to the completion of the agreement (Interfax/BBC Worldwide Monitoring, May 21).

Swedish Foreign Minister Anna Lindh said the agreement would help prevent terrorists from obtaining the spent nuclear fuel in the decommissioned submarines (BBC News, May 21). 

In addition to reducing environmental and security concerns, Russia also believes the agreement can serve as a basis for the establishment of bilateral agreements within the Group of Eight Global Partnership against the Spread of Weapons and Materials of Mass Destruction, which was signed last year (Interfax).

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