[originaltext] Vladimir Putin, the Russian leader, will try at the G8 summit

Vladimir Putin, the Russian leader, will try at the G8 summit to lay the foundations for an "international network" that would provide nuclear fuel to countries that do not have the technical know-how to produce their own. He is presenting the proposal as a way of strengthening the nuclear non-proliferation regime, while providing energy security to developing countries. Putin wants to give poorer countries the possibility of nuclear energy while reducing the risk of nuclear weapons being manufactured. Some of the elements of the nuclear fuel cycle, such as enriched uranium, can be used to make a nuclear bomb. "There could be a network of international centres which would produce nuclear fuel elements on demand for countries that do not have a full production chain," Vladimir Chizhov, the Russian ambassador to the EU, said as he announced the plan in Brussels on Tuesday (11 July).
In June EU leaders endorsed a report which advocated "creating an international regime for the supply of enriched uranium to countries that have chosen the nuclear option", but EU officials pointed to difficulties with the Russian proposals. Binding safeguards in the Euratom treaty on the handling of nuclear materials would make it difficult for EU member states to become substantially involved in the deal. Diplomats from some EU member states also indicated that they would prefer to see any international system run by the International Atomic Energy Agency rather than simply backed by the G8. Without IAEA involvement, they said, the plan could simply result in a proliferation of nuclear weapons. EU member states which are opposed to nuclear technology such as Germany and Ireland, are likely to protest against promoting the possible expansion of nuclear energy. But the proposal might be used to solve the ongoing diplomatic dispute with Iran over its nuclear programme. Moscow had previously proposed the establishment of a Russia-Iran joint enrichment facility on Russian soil, which would satisfy international demands for Iran to halt its domestic enrichment activities. The EU, too, has offered to give Iran unspecified nuclear technology in return fur stopping uranium enrichment. The EU and other leading world powers agreed on Wednesday (12 July) to refer Iran back to the United Nations Security Council after Tehran failed to respond quickly enough to an offer of incentives to suspend its uranium enrichment programme. The decision followed an unproductive meeting between EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana and Iran’s chief nuclear negotiator Ali Larijani in Brussels on 11 July. French Foreign Minister Philippe Douste-Blazy said: "The Iranians have given absolutely no indication of their readiness to seriously discuss the substance of our proposal." After that meeting Larijani said that the Russian and EU offers were still under consideration. Some EU diplomats have questioned Russia’s motives for proposing the deal, pointing to the potential financial windfall that Russia could enjoy if it received international backing for the export of its nuclear technology. Russia’s trade in nuclear materials is worth an estimated ∈200 - 300 million with the EU alone. Russia has repeatedly called on the EU to revise its Euratom treaty to allow greater EU imports of Russian fuel.