News
Publish date: May 11, 2009
News
Sergey Lavrov praised President Barack Obama’s administration for taking a constructive stance in talks with Russia, adding that diplomats from both nations are now working on detailed platforms on arms control, Russian news agencies reported.
Obama and Russian President Dmitry Medvedev will discuss the issue when they meet in Moscow on July 6-8 and give directives on how to proceed, Lavrov said.
Lavrov said preliminary contacts have shown that "there is a good chance to bring our positions closer and reach agreements." He added, "The U.S. approach seems very constructive to me."
Enacting large slashes in the nuclear arms stockpiles of both counties has been a signature initiative of the Obama Administration, and much of the international clout the young presidency will yield will be determined by the talks.
Lavrov spoke to Russian reporters after returning from a visit to the United States where he held talks with Obama and Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton.
Obama and Medvedev agreed during their meeting in London last month to fast-track negotiations on an agreement to replace the 1991 Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty, or START, which expires in December.
"We hope that by the year’s end we will be able to negotiate a mutually acceptable text of a new treaty, although we are pressed by time," Lavrov said.
He said Russia would like a new deal to count all nuclear warheads, including those in storage. But he signaled that there is a room for compromise, adding that Moscow is ready to listen to the U.S. arguments to the contrary.
Throughout the past year, our mission at the Bellona Environmental Transparency Center has focused on two key, but intertwined issues—nuclear and radiation safety as Russia’s invasion of Ukraine drags on, and the worldwide influence of Rosatom, Russia’s state nuclear corporation, which itself is actively involved in the war and has participated in the occupation of a Ukrainian nuclear power plant.
At the beginning of the year, reports in the German and Russian press suggested an approximate 70% increase in uranium imports from Russia to Germany in 2024. But does this reflect broader European trends? It does not. Overall, imports of uranium and nuclear fuel from Russia to Western countries actually dropped sharply in 2024. Unlike the situation in Germany, this is already an established trend.
A Lingen, Germany plant could begin producing nuclear fuel in cooperation with a subsidiary of Rosatom, Russia's state nuclear corporation, which is directly involved in the war in Ukraine and occupying the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant.
In this news digest, we monitor events that impact the environment in the Russian Arctic. Our focus lies in identifying the factors that contribute to pollution and climate change.