Russia Removed From Nuclear-Energy Stage at Washington Summit

Jonathan Tirone
·3 min read
1

(Bloomberg) -- Russia lost its place on stage at a key international nuclear summit in Washington next week, as US authorities seek ways to limit the influence of Kremlin-controlled atomic fuel and technology suppliers on the global market.

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The International Atomic Energy Agency confirmed Thursday that executives from Rosatom Corp. and Russia’s industry regulator were dropped from the agenda of next week’s meetings in the US capital. White House officials have been considering for months ways to reduce the Kremlin’s influence on global nuclear markets, where state-owned Rosatom continues to be the biggest exporter of nuclear fuel and reactors.

Russia has come under increased pressure at the IAEA for endangering nuclear security following the seizure of Europe’s biggest atomic-power plant early in its war against Ukraine. The Zaporizhzhia station, with six reactors designed to generate a fifth of Ukraine’s electricity, has subsequently been targeted by artillery and missiles, threatening to provoke a radiological accident.

“Participation in the conference can change because of programmatic or personal reasons,” the IAEA said in a statement. “We are confident that the current program will ensure a successful conference” that will include discussions around “the role of nuclear power and its contribution to energy security.”

Western nations have sought to isolate Russia from the world stage, including at the next Group of 20 summit in Bali. White House officials are taking extra steps to ensure President Joe Biden doesn’t encounter his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, next month on the Indonesian island, Politico reported Wednesday.

US officials had warned that a Russian presence risked turning the Oct. 26-28 meeting into diplomatic nightmare. Russians have been replaced at next week’s event in Washington by senior US officials, including Secretary of Energy Jennifer Granholm, as well as Microsoft Corp. founder Bill Gates. Nuclear officials from Argentina, China, Poland and South Africa are also on the revised agenda.

New Rules

IAEA Director Rafael Mariano Grossi is also being urged to consider new rules to hold member states responsible for violating atomic safety standards.

“Nuclear installations should not be subject to the threat of attack,” wrote the IAEA’s International Nuclear Safety Advisory Group in a diplomatic note circulated last month. “It may be worthwhile to undertake the development of a formal instrument, perhaps even a code of conduct.”

US attempts to punish and potentially sanction Russia’s nuclear industry have run into roadblocks because of Rosatom’s systemic importance to global markets.

The company still supplies almost a quarter of the enriched uranium used in the US and about 100 million Europeans still need its nuclear fuel for electricity generation. Since February, when Moscow began its invasion, Rosatom has begun work on Egypt’s first power reactor, advanced projects in Hungary and Turkey, and started new business from Myanmar to Uganda, deals worth billions of dollars. Russian engineer Mikhail Chudakov is the top nuclear-energy official at the IAEA.

State Department officials declined to comment and referred inquiries to the IAEA. The agency declined to comment on whether Chudakov would attend next week’s meeting.

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