Media Note
Office of the Spokesman
Washington, DC
July 3, 2008
Joint U.S.-Russian Statement: One Year of Progress Following the Joint Declaration on Nuclear Energy and NonproliferationBelow is the text of a joint statement released by the United States and the Russian Federation on the one year anniversary of the Joint Declaration on Nuclear Energy and Nonproliferation:
As President Bush and former Russian President Putin jointly declared on July 3, 2007, “We share a common vision of growth in the use of nuclear energy, including in developing countries, to increase the supply of electricity, promote economic growth and development, and reduce reliance on fossil fuels, resulting in decreased pollution and greenhouse gases.”
The July 3, 2007 Joint Declaration on Nuclear Energy and Nonproliferation proposed to initiate a new format for enhancing civil nuclear energy cooperation in order to extend the benefits of nuclear power while promoting the highest standards of safety, security, and nonproliferation.
The Declaration presented a number of ways – including the development of human resources and other infrastructure, the facilitation of nuclear plant financing, and the management of spent fuel – through which the U.S. and Russia are prepared to cooperate, together with others, in making the benefits of peaceful uses of nuclear energy available to a wide range of interested states, and developing countries in particular. The U.S. and Russia are currently developing new ways of providing assistance to states considering nuclear energy or considering expansion of existing nuclear energy programs. The entry into force of a formal U.S.- Russian civil nuclear cooperation agreement will improve, in particular, our ability to operate together in furtherance of the Joint Declaration’s objectives.
By promoting best practices of nuclear safety and security and by offering states a viable alternative to the development of sensitive nuclear fuel cycle technologies, the United States and Russia believe that this approach will allow greater access to peaceful nuclear energy, while at the same time strengthening the global nuclear nonproliferation regime embodied in the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons.
U.S. Special Envoy for Nuclear Nonproliferation, Ambassador Jackie Wolcott, and Russian Ambassador Grigory Berdennikov are working in tandem, and in partnership with others, to advance the objectives of the Joint Declaration.
Our countries are determined to reach out to developing states in need of clean and reliable energy supplies with the promise of enhanced cooperation. Within this context, a number of states have made public statements of intent to rely on the international fuel market in lieu of developing indigenous enrichment and reprocessing technologies. Our countries are also promoting full implementation of Nonproliferation Treaty safeguards obligations, and adoption of international conventions on safety, security and liability.
On this occasion, the United States and the Russian Federation reaffirm our commitment to the responsible expansion of nuclear energy and reiterate that this expansion must proceed in a manner that maximizes nuclear safety and security and minimizes proliferation risk.
2008/543
Released on July 3, 2008
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