Russia rejects ‘technological colonialism’ – Putin
Moscow aims to share its innovative atomic energy technology but does not strive to make partner countries dependent on Russia’s solutions, President Vladimir Putin said during his address to the Global Atomic Forum on Thursday.
“We reject so-called technological colonialism,” Putin stated, stressing that Russia wants to help countries develop their own sovereign nuclear industries by training personnel, engaging with local energy companies, assisting in power unit operation and ensuring nuclear supplies and waste management.
Nuclear energy is a key clean energy source amid rising global demand, driven in part by artificial intelligence and large-scale data processing, Putin said, adding that Russia is already creating modular data processing systems at nuclear plants, which provide steady power supply for such technologies.
The president highlighted that atomic power is a cornerstone of green technologies, outperforming other energy sources in cost, environmental safety, and stability.
As the only country with full-cycle nuclear capabilities, Russian-designed plants are among the most reliable and sought-after worldwide, he noted. Putin also confirmed that the country is moving toward serial production of small land-based and floating nuclear power plants.
Safety remains a top priority, calling for reinforced standards at every stage of the nuclear cycle from uranium mining to waste disposal, he said.
According to Putin, financing large-scale nuclear projects requires balanced risk-sharing and that the BRICS New Development Bank has confirmed its readiness to support such initiatives.
On resources, Putin remarked that ensuring their availability is “the most important issue” and that while some forecasts say the world’s uranium deposits could be completely depleted by 2090, in reality this could happen by the 2060s.
Russia is already developing solutions to this issue and, by 2030, plans to launch the world’s first nuclear energy system with a closed fuel cycle that will allow 95% of spent fuel to be reused in reactors, he told the audience.
The president proposed that this mechanism could ultimately completely solve the problem of radioactive waste accumulation and resolve the issue of uranium availability.
