International

U.S. upset by Russia-N. Korea project

WASHINGTON MARCH. 29. A Russian move to build a nuclear power plant for ``axis of evil'' state North Korea after already constructing one in "co-axis'' Iran could threaten Moscow's improving relations with the United States, a senior U.S. official said.

``For the Russians to do this is a very, very bad sign and would add one more burden to the relationship on non-proliferation and one more important topic we've got to get straight with them,'' he told Reuters yesterday.

The move would leave only Iraq among the three countries the U.S. President, George W. Bush, branded an ``axis of evil'' in his State of the Union message in January without an active nuclear relationship with Russia. ``This is very bad news at a time when we were expressing our doubts about North Korean compliance with the Agreed Framework,'' the official said, referring to a 1994 accord under which Pyongyang pledged to freeze its nuclear program.

The Russian Nuclear Energy Minister, Alexander Rumyantsev, told a news conference in Moscow on Wednesday that Russia would complete a nuclear power plant reactor in Iran despite U.S. opposition.

And, in what would be an expansion of Russian nuclear activities, he said Moscow was also considering a tentative North Korean request for a similar plant.

A day earlier, a senior U.S. official told Reuters that while the Bush administration has made little progress in persuading Moscow to end nuclear assistance to Iran, this was unlikely to disrupt U.S.-Russia ties that warmed considerably since the September 11 attacks on New York and Washington.

``Now is it (Russia-Iran nuclear cooperation) enough to derail the (U.S.-Russia) relationship? Not if the Russians don't expand cooperation and proliferation with this and other countries,'' he said in an interview. If the status quo holds, ``it's possible it would simply be a continuing problem,'' said the U.S. official, who spoke on condition of anonymity.

However, if Russia ``expanded their (nuclear) cooperation ... it would be a big problem,'' he added. Mr. Rumyantsev predicted the $800 million Iranian plant at Bushehr would be finished in the year 2005.

— Reuters

Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

International

News: Front Page | National | Southern States | Other States | International | Opinion | Business | Sport | Miscellaneous |
Advts: Classifieds | Employment | Obituary |

Stories in this Section

• U.S. upset by Russia-N. Korea project
• Arabs, E.U. call for restraint
• Militant factions vow to fight back
• 'Sort out terrorist list issue through talks'
• Russia raps Israel
• Plea for death sentence
• Rain, mines slow Afghan quake aid
• U.K. schools a'nightmare' for Indian teachers
• Tikka Khan dead
• Better prospects for peace this time
• Awami League sets conditions for talks
• Five Indians killed in Dubai shipyard accident

Copyright © 2002, The Hindu. Republication or redissemination of the contents of this screen are expressly prohibited without the written consent of The Hindu