Russia’s FM, Rosatom to continue cooperation with IAEA

Russia’s foreign ministry and Rosatom, a Russian state-run nuclear corporation, will keep in contact in their cooperation with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Tuesday at the Atomexpo-2015 international forum.

Lavrov and Rosatom’s head Sergei Kiriyenko signed a cooperation agreement between the Russian foreign ministry and the nuclear corporation, which provides for close relations in many areas of international activities and in training personnel. The minister said this agreement "creates an additional base to make cooperation more efficient."

According to Lavrov, the Russian foreign ministry and Rosatom have long-standing relations of cooperation. "Our embassies and consulates abroad offer active political and diplomatic backing for the promotion of advanced Russian technologies, for the implementation of nuclear power plant construction projects abroad," the minister said. "Rosatom is a very reliable partner for us."

Among areas of cooperation between the foreign ministry and Rosatom Lavrov cited such areas as physical nuclear safety, the system of IAEA guarentees, and promotion of nuclear technologies in various sectors of the economy.

"We rely on professionalism of Rosatom experts in our negotiations aiming to ensure conditions fixed in the Nuclear Non-proliferation Treaty (NPT)," Lavrov said, adding that of special importance was cooperation between his ministry and the nuclear corporation in the area of fighting against nuclear terrorism.

"Many of what I have just spoken about is committed to paper in the agreement we signed. This agreement also opens up new areas of cooperation," he added.