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To date, French aid to Russia has
been subsumed under the country's
AIDA ("Aide au démantèlement," or dismantlement assistance) program. Between
1992 and 1996, France On 17 November 1994, French Foreign Minister Alain Juppé
and Russian Foreign Minister Andrey Kozyrev were scheduled to sign an agreement
calling for the construction of a 5,000 square meter building in Novosibirsk
for the storage of
lithium hydride left over from nuclear warhead dismantlement. The project,
estimated to cost FFR 132 million, is part of a broad agreement signed
between the two countries in November 1992. This agreement provides for
the delivery of radiation detection equipment, containers for radioactive
waste and equipment for nuclear warhead dismantlement.[2] By the middle
of 1994 France had spent $171.1 million for bilateral projects with Eastern
Europe and the former Soviet Union. It had also contributed $82.7 million
to the PHARE and TACIS programs
and $38.2 million to the EBRD Nuclear Safety Account.[3]
On 31 October 1996 it was reported that France's Institute of Nuclear Protection
and Safety and Russia's Kurchatov Institute had signed an agreement to
cooperate in the area of nuclear material control. The two institutes agreed
to exchange technical information and expertise pertaining to nuclear material
detection and monitoring.[4] In 1997, France allocated $24.5 million to
enhance safety at Russian nuclear power plants over two to three years.[5]
Russia has also signed cooperative agreements with the French firm, Electricite
de France to improve nuclear power plant safety. Cooperation includes the
training of personnel, the modernization of nuclear equipment, collaboration
in the design, building, and maintenance of power plants, and the establishment
of a center for non-destructive testing of metal used in Russian nuclear
power plant equipment. Additionally, Russia has signed agreements with
two other French firms. Schneider Electric is involved in modernizing the
protection systems around the generating units of the Kola
nuclear power plant. The Cema Group won a tender from the
TACIS
program to open a nuclear crisis center. [6]
Additionally, France is cooperating with Germany
and Russia on the design of a pilot plant to fabricate MOX fuel from weapons-grade
Russian plutonium. The project involves Minatom, Cogema, the Gesellschaft
fur Anlagen und Reaktorsicherheit, and Siemens. As of November 1997,
a feasibility study had been completed on a pilot facility that would process
approximately one ton of plutonium per year.[7]
Sources: Page last updated 15 October 2002 Comments or questions? Contact Kenley Butler at MIIS
CNS: Kenley.Butler@miis.edu
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