Nuclear Energy is fast becoming a tool of American diplomacy. After negotiating a deal with India, which still needs Congress approval, the US is planning to negotiate civilian nuclear energy cooperation with Russia. At the G-8 summit meeting in St. Petersburg, the US and Russia announced a plan to prevent the spread of nuclear weapons by setting up international enrichment centers.

Since the Iraq fiasco Bush has become more careful in dealings with Iran. He understands the significance of Russia, both as a permanent member of the Security Council and as a major power capable of influencing Iran. The Russian Federation is also one of the members of the six party dialogue with North Korea. The US is thus attempting to effectively engage Russia by nuclear diplomacy.

Bush proposes to engage Moscow to promote the use of nuclear power as part of an international framework covering the peaceful uses of nuclear energy. The Bush administration is campaigning for the Global Nuclear Energy Partnership (GNEP), an international framework to promote the peaceful uses of nuclear energy while preventing nuclear proliferation. However, the intention to collaborate with Russia should not come as a surprise as the US is already working with Japan, France, and Great Britain to develop a fast breeder reactor programme.

The US has been in the business of civilian nuclear cooperation for quite some time. It has reached agreements with the European Atomic Energy Agency, Japan, China, Taiwan, and 20 other countries. The Russians have been interested in an agreement with the US since the end of the Cold War. Almost a decade ago, Russia suggested that it could provide the use of its vast landmass to store the world's spent nuclear fuel. In fact, it had even passed a law in the year 2001 relating to the import, temporary storage, and reprocessing of foreign nuclear fuel, despite opposition from domestic forces and environmentalists. However, since the US controls the spent fuel from nuclear reactors for all countries with which it has agreements, this Russian proposal had no takers. It was expected that the storing of spent nuclear fuel could generate business worth approximately $20 billion.

Presently, the technology to reprocess spent fuel without leaving behind residual material, which could be used for bombs, is not available and the US is looking for a place to store spent fuel from overseas. It feels that Russia could volunteer for the same. Surprisingly, Russia's nuclear Chief had earlier rejected this idea as part of a possible nuclear deal between the US and Russia. He had made it clear that the Russians are not interested in this lucrative business, probably because of environmental reasons. However, the reports emerging from the G-8 summit indicate that both States have now reached an agreement on the creation of international enrichment centres, united into a single network under strict IAEA (International Atomic Energy Agency) control, on Russian soil. They have also agreed upon initiatives for global nuclear energy and fighting nuclear terrorism. With this announcement at the G-8 summit, President Bush has allowed civilian nuclear energy cooperation with Russia for the first time in history. How the US Congress reacts to this bold decision, which reverses the traditional US policy on dealings with Russia on nuclear matters, remains unclear.

On the domestic front, Bush may not find the going as tough as in the case of the Indo-US nuclear deal. This is because Russia is a nuclear weapon state within the framework of the US Atomic Energy Act of 1954. Hence, Bush will not require any prior approval of the Congress but the cooperation agreement will be placed before the Congress for 90 days for its approval or objections. In the case of its rejection, the President can use his veto power and the Congress would require a two-thirds majority to override the presidential veto. This clearly signifies that the agreement is likely to be accepted.

Today, some analysts argue that the US needs Russia more than Russia needs the US. This is because the US is unable to resolve the Iranian and North Korean conundrum and needs Russian support. The US also wants to ensure that Russia does not use its oil and natural gas resources as weapons in disputes with its brittle democratic neighbors like Georgia and Ukraine.

The US and Russia failed to make any headway on their WTO agreement at the G-8 summit but have shown keenness to resolve issues related to the nuclear energy deal. This clearly indicates that the US is keen to engage Russia and, for that purpose, is looking beyond its own often-chanted mantra of democracy.

Reference: Translation of an Interview with President George W. Bush and Handelsblatt; Published in the Handelsblatt on 12 July 2006.
http://www.usembassy.de/germany/handelsblatt_interview.html