OREANDA-NEWS. September 15, 2009. Russia significantly contributes to strengthening of nuclear nonproliferation regime, Director General of the International Atomic Energy Corporation Modamed ElBaradei and his successor Yukiya Amano said during their meeting with Director General of Rosatom State Nuclear Energy Corporation Sergey Kiriyenko in Vienna Sept 14 2009.

The meeting took place in the framework of the IAEA’s 53rd General Conference.

The IAEA leaders said Russia was the only country consistently and transparently processing highly enriched uranium.

Kiriyenko said that Russia was systematically retrieving fresh and spent highly enriched nuclear fuel from research reactors of Soviet design in third countries. The fuel was supplied to the reactors during the Soviet times in the framework of scientific-technical cooperation programs. Kiriyenko said that a cargo containing 500 kg of highly enriched uranium was delivered to one of the Russian ports Sept 14. The fuel would be enough for producing 7–8 bombs. But now after processing these 500 kg will be turned into low enriched fuel posing no threat to the nonproliferation regime.