Moscow is still interested in nuclear energy cooperation with Washington, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said in a meeting with Ernest Moniz, former United States Secretary of Energy.
"During your tenure as US Secretary of Energy, Russia and the US signed the so-called 123 Agreement for Cooperation in the Field of Peaceful Uses of Nuclear Energy,” Lavrov said at the meeting with Moniz, who served under President Barack Obama in his second term. "Unfortunately, since then, for reasons beyond our control this agreement and contacts were frozen," he added.
Moniz now works as chief executive officer of the Nuclear Threat Initiative, an organization working to prevent catastrophic attacks with weapons of mass destruction.
The 123 Agreement was signed by Presidents Barack Obama and Dmitry Medvedev and came into force in 2011. The agreement provides the opportunity for cooperation of US and Russian nuclear laboratories, technological cooperation and joint business projects.
The agreement is also important for the global security, as it promotes cooperation in the field of nuclear forensics and prevention of nuclear terrorism.
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