India, Russia Agree to Reactor Deal

Russia formally agreed today to sell India four nuclear power reactors, enhancing the two nations’ cooperation at a time when other countries, including the United States, are seeking to sell more nuclear technology to India, Reuters reported (see GSN, Jan. 24).

During a summit in New Delhi, Russian President Vladimir Putin and Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh signed a memorandum of intent to close the reactor deal.

“Energy security is the most important of the emerging dimensions of our strategic partnership,” Singh said at the signing ceremony (Olesya Dmitracova, Reuters, Jan. 25).

The four reactors would be built at an existing nuclear site at Kudankulam, where Russia is already constructing two reactors (see GSN, March 4, 2004).

“The reactor facilities and nuclear fuel supplied by Russia shall remain under the [International Atomic Energy Agency] safeguards during the entire period of their actual use,” the two leaders said in a joint statement (Indian Foreign Ministry release release, Jan. 25).

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