The head of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) hailed Friday a plan by Russian President Vladimir Putin to reduce the risk of nuclear accidents and proliferation by introducing safer technologies for generating energy.
Putin told the UN Millennium Summit in New York in September he favored withdrawing weapons-grade uranium and plutonium from the nuclear power industry and introducing new technologies.
Mohammed El Baradei met the Russian leader here to discuss what he called "the technical side of an initiative" that would see the world's energy needs met by a combination of organic fuel, hydroelectric stations and nuclear power plants.
The IAEA chief welcomed the Russian proposal and said the international community "should develop new technologies which bring the maximum benefits at the same time as being the safest possible."
The IAEA "can play a role in coordinating efforts in this regard," he added.
Research into new ways of generating energy was all the more important because public opinion was concerned about the safety of nuclear power plants as a result of the 1986 disaster at the Chernobyl plant in the former Soviet republic of Ukraine, El Baradei said.
The world's energy needs were forecast to increase two- to three-fold over the next 10 to 20 years, so all sources of energy would come in very handy, he added -- MOSCOW (AFP)
© 2000 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)
