[A-List] Russia: nuclear exports to Syria?

["Michael Keaney" <michael.keaney@xxxxxx>]

Russia in talks to build Syrian nuclear reactor
By Andrew Jack in Moscow, Stephen Fidler and Roula Khalaf in London
Financial Times: January 16 2003

Russia is in negotiations to build a nuclear power plant in Syria, risking
damage to its tighter relationship forged with the West in recent months and
triggering fresh concerns over the spread of nuclear weapons.

Moscow's ministry of atomic energy (Minatom) confirmed the discussions on
Wednesday. It said "Syria wants" the project and that "Russia in principle"
could supply it, while stressing that "an agreement is not ready".

The development is likely to be a fresh source of irritation to the US.
Washington has long been critic of Russia's contract to build the Bushehr
nuclear power plant in Iran, which Russia is seeking to expand, as well as
Russian agreements to build reactors in other countries. Gary Milhollin,
director of the Wisconsin Project on Nuclear Arms Control in Washington,
said: "This is a relationship breaker between the US and Russia."

In an unclassified report released this month, the US Central Intelligence
Agency mentioned the existence of a "draft co-operative programme" between
Russia and Syria on civil nuclear power. "In principle, broader access to
Russian expertise provides opportunities for Syria to expand its indigenous
capabilities, should it decide to pursue nuclear weapons," it said.

The details emerged after a day of confusion following a statement on the
foreign ministry website that an agreement had been drafted under which
Russia would build a nuclear power plant and an atomic desalination plant in
Syria.

The ministry later removed the statement, issued to coincide with a two-day
visit to Moscow by Abdel-Khalim Khaddam, the Syrian vice-president. Vladimir
Putin, the Russian president, said yesterday that military-technical
co-operation was a key element in the two countries' relations.

Syrian officials in Damascus said they could neither confirm nor deny the
report.

In a rare public dispute between different parts of the Russian government,
Minatom attempted to play down the talks and said that the foreign ministry
had made "several mistakes".

The contradictory signals suggested a split within the Russian
administration between those concerned by the political costs of the project
and those focused on commercial gain.

Mr Milhollin said any agreement with Syria would raise questions on how it
would be financed. But he said there was a serious pattern developing. "The
Russians are supplying the Indians in violation of their obligations as part
of the Nuclear Suppliers Group; they are supplying Iran, who nobody else
would supply, and now they are talking to the Syrians."

Minatom said that the Bushehr contract with Iran was worth about $1bn
(£622m), with an equivalent sum from a project in India and twice as much
from another in China. This week it expressed interest in co-operation with
North Korea. However, it stresses that it abides by all non- proliferation
agreements.