Russia and the United States signed an inter-governmental agreement for cooperation in the peaceful use of nuclear energy

On May 6 2008 Russia and the United States signed an inter-governmental agreement for cooperation in the peaceful use of nuclear energy. The agreement was signed by Director General of Rosatom State Nuclear Energy Corporation Sergey Kiriyenko and US Ambassador to Russia William Burns.

This agreement will create the necessary legal basis for Russia-US cooperation in the field of peaceful use of nuclear energy and will permit the expansion of such cooperation. The agreement is supposed to foster the peaceful uses of nuclear energy and to reduce the risk of nuclear weapons proliferation.

Note

In their joint statement during the St.Petersburg Summit on July 15 2006 Presidents of Russia and the United States Vladimir Putin and George Bush instructed their respective governments to start negotiations for concluding a bilateral agreement between Russia and the United States for cooperation in the field of peaceful use of nuclear energy.

The agreement complies with the Russian legislation and Section 123 of the US Atomic Energy Act.