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Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on a meeting of the Coordination Council of Russians Abroad in Moscow

Sergei Lavrov: In accordance with a decision of the World Congress of Russians Abroad last November in St Petersburg, which you supported, the Coordination Council of Russians Abroad was established. The Council will hold its first meeting today in Moscow and examine issues that were among the main items on the agenda at the World Congress. These are, above all, cooperation with our compatriots abroad in carrying out the relevant Russian government programmes: the programme for supporting Russians abroad over the next three years, the programme for voluntary resettlement in the Russian Federation, and the programme for supporting the Russian language, all the more important as you have declared this year Russian Language Year.

Also on the Council’s agenda is the issue of consolidating the various organisations in different countries. There are several different organisations set up by Russians abroad, and it is in their interests to coordinate their work more closely. There are also information support issues to be considered – support for libraries, support for organisations helping to distribute Russian films and music, and support for other cultural activities and for current or planned publications for Russians abroad in different countries.

We will be discussing the events planned to take place this year in different countries and regions. More than 60 national and regional conferences are to take place in different countries, and they will be involved in practical implementation of the decisions of the Congress and the Coordination Council. I also want to note that Russia’s regions are becoming more and more actively involved in the work of the Government Commission on Russians Abroad, which is a partner of the Coordination Council. Along with Moscow and St Petersburg, Tatarstan and the Moscow Region are becoming more active, and a number of other Russian regions are also showing greater interest. While in Moscow, the Coordination Council’s members will have meetings at the Foreign Ministry, but they will also be meeting with representatives of the Federal Assembly, the Culture Ministry, the Federal Migration Service and the Public Council. We will report to you after these meetings and make proposals for further work.

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First Deputy Prime Minister Sergei Ivanov on a visit by an IAEA delegation to the Chemical Electrolysis Plant in Angarsk

Sergei Ivanov: What I consider to be an event of some significance will take place on March 20. A delegation from the International Atomic Energy Agency will make its first visit to the Chemical Electrolysis Plant in Angarsk, which belongs to Rosatom. The delegation’s visit follows on the plans to establish an international uranium enrichment centre in Angarsk. This will be the first practical step towards carrying out your initiative to create a global infrastructure of international uranium enrichment centres that will provide all countries wishing to develop nuclear energy with access to this high-technology service. I emphasise the fact that this initiative will give countries access to uranium enrichment services and not to uranium enrichment technology. There is nothing political about this initiative. There is only one condition involved – a condition that you approved with the leaders of the G8 and other leading countries – and that is full compliance with IAEA demands.

The delegation will visit the facility and we hope to begin work there very soon, all the more so as we now have the first country to have shown an interest in working at the centre. This is Kazakhstan. You will no doubt be discussing this issue with [President of Kazakhstan] Nursultan Abishevich [Nazarbayev]. Kazakhstan has expressed its interest in developing fuel-cycle enrichment (uranium for nuclear fuel and not for weapons production) at this facility. I think this is the first practical step towards beginning work at the international centre. The IAEA delegation will inspect the facility to ensure its preparedness and check that it conforms to all the standards. Furthermore, in accordance with your decree, this facility, which previously carried out uranium enrichment, including the production of weapons-grade uranium, has now been taken off the list of strategic facilities and so there are no legal obstacles to starting work there.

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