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RUSSIA'S TOP NUCLEAR ENERGY OFFICIAL DESCRIBES ACCUSATIONS AGAINST IRAN AS UNFOUNDED

RIA Novosti

PARIS, March 21 (RIA Novosti's Andrei Nizamutdinov) - Alexander Rumyantsev, Director of the Russian Federal Agency for Nuclear Energy, does not think there is any valid evidence to prove that Iran is pursuing a nuclear weapons program. Mr Rumyantsev is currently in Paris, attending the international conference "Atomic Energy for the 21st Century."

According to Russia's top nuclear energy official, Iran has not committed any violation of international law that could give grounds for the global community to accuse it of contributing to the proliferation of nuclear technologies and materials. Inspectors of the UN's nuclear watchdog, IAEA [International Atomic Energy Agency], say that Iran is fully complying with all nuclear regulations and that it has committed itself to non-proliferation by signing the Additional Protocol to the NPT [Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty] and other relevant documents, Mr Rumyantsev noted in a RIA interview. "I can't see any connection between Iran and the problem of nuclear non-proliferation," he added.

According to Mr Rumyantsev, nuclear energy cannot possibly replace all conventional types of energy at this point in time, but it may be able to do so some time in the future. As of today, the nuclear industry accounts for a mere 17 percent of the world's overall energy output, he said.

The current atomic energy conference in Paris is, among other things, considering ways to use non-renewable energy sources for other economic purposes while making atomic energy safe, cost-effective, and sustainable in terms of nuclear non-proliferation, the Russian delegate said. "On such terms, atomic energy could indeed become a replacement," Mr Rumyantsev said. It will be remembered that many countries are seeking to double or even triple their nuclear energy capacities in the two coming decades, he added.