Frozen opening

Nuclear renaissance requires sacrifices. But if in far African Niger real blood runs in the struggle for uranium, in India more close to us only the fate of Cabinet of Ministers has been sacrificed at the altar of peaceful atom. Junior partners of Indian government from left parties have blocked a passage of so-called nuclear deal between India and USA, having recourse to threat of ahead-of schedule election.

Indian press harried to name negative reaction of Russia on this event. The largest newspapers of Asian democracy note that Sergey Lavrov demonstratively refused to meet with its Indian colleague arrived to Moscow with official visit. The complaint of the Russians is that Russia expected to conclude several profitable contracts for construction of NPPs in India - of course, only in the case, if India-USA nuclear deal is going its way.

Relation between interests of the state corporation Rosatom and India-USA nuclear agreement for cooperation in nuclear sphere looks unusual only at first sight. Actually Russia would like to construct four more, lucky, ten nuclear units with VVER-1000 reactors. But the strict rules of Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) prohibit us to conclude new contracts with the Indians.Russia's Ministry of Foreign Affairs reasonably considers that our country couldn't force 44 countries involving in NSG to modify international nuclear laws alone. And here the Americans pushing its own nuclear deal with Delhi through NSG with cowboys insistence became a lucky locomotive for the Russians. In this case, following America's lead, Russia can be a winner and receive Indian nuclear orders.

But our wishes, as the classics of Soviet movies teach, should coincide with our opportunities. The news coming from Slovakia in these days, honestly speaking, the news making concern, make us think whether Russia's nuclear state corporation is able to receive the orders for construction of nuclear units abroad? And here the matter is not in mythic noncompetitive ability of the Russians. Objective factors such as policy and shortage in power engineering capacities restrain our expansion on the external markets.

With regards to the above, should we be upset that India-USA nuclear deal meets with opposition of Indian communists - who, by the way, was once natural allies of USSR- and was frozen? Simultaneously the current opening positioning of chessmen in Indian nuclear game of gambit preferable for Russia seemed to be frozen. We have already started constructing two units in India, but our competitors - no one.

SOURCE: Vladimir Rychin, AtomInfo.Ru

DATE: November 19, 2007

Topics: NPP, Asia, India, Russia