EWI Associate Danila Bochkarev

Danila Bochkarev and Greg Austin suggest in The Moscow Times that a Washington-Moscow nuclear energy partnership can foster practical, non-politicized, technical cooperation while also promoting global security. They argue that both sides should cooperate on an international, proliferation-resistant nuclear fuel bank and promote technical cooperation between their civil nuclear industries.

Such a partnership would have many benefits for both countries, they suggest, including the advancement of their national energy security, tangible commercial benefits and the promotion of multilateral civil nuclear energy frameworks. In addition, U.S.-Russia cooperation on nuclear energy could also help to rejuvenate stalled U.S.-Russian dialogue on other matters.

Despite the challenges, such as “profound differences in opinion between Russian and Western security experts and elites as to the range of cooperative possibilities in the nuclear energy relationship,” Bochkarev and Austin argue that there is significant room for cooperation. “The United States and Russia share a vision of a sustainable energy future less reliant on dwindling and environmentally damaging fossil fuels,” they write. “A joint U.S.-Russian initiative on civil nuclear energy would be a step closer to this goal.” 

They argue for stronger commitments from both countries, including resumption of the process to ratify the United States-Russia Civil Nuclear Cooperation Agreement, the creation of a bilateral intergovernmental commission to define technical parameters for civil nuclear cooperation, and commitment to a firm deadline for a joint proposal on an international fuel bank. The authors also call on the U.S. and Russia to “establish a firm framework for transferring affordable and proliferation-resistant technology to developing countries.”

“Civil nuclear energy can play the same role for U.S.-Russian relations that coal and steel played for German-French relations after World War II,” conclude Bochkarev and Austin. “A nuclear energy partnership can foster technical cooperation on a practical, functional and non-politicized basis, while simultaneously promoting global security.”

Click here to read Danila Bochkarev and Greg Austin’s article in the Moscow Times