Russia is considering and may have concluded a deal to provide France and Germany with highly enriched, nuclear bomb-grade uranium for use in research reactors, the Clinton administration says.
That's the kind of fuel used to make atom bombs, but while the administration registered its concern with the two European governments it is not alarmed, said an official, who spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity."It goes against our preference," he said Thursday. "We prefer everybody play by our standards. But we don't consider France and Germany threats to nonproliferation accords."
But Paul Leventhal, president of the Nuclear Control Institute, is concerned. "By not raising strong objections,the United States is putting at risk its 20-year effort to get all bomb-grade uranium out of commerce," he said.