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West's relations with Russia at turning point: Australian PM
Canberra (AFP) Sept 18, 2008 The west's relations with Russia are at a turning point after its intervention in Georgia and a pact to sell Australian uranium to Moscow is in the balance, Prime Minister Kevin Rudd said Thursday. Parliament's treaties committee earlier recommended that the deal signed with former president Vladimir Putin last year be put on hold because of concerns about Russia's nuclear weapons programme. The committee said the government should first satisfy itself that the billion-dollars-a-year (800,000 US dollars) worth of the nuclear fuel would be used solely for civilian nuclear power. And it should give more consideration to recent events such as the conflict in Georgia, the committee's report said. Rudd told a news conference that the uranium question would be considered carefully in the light of the shifting political landscape but refused to rule out sales. "If you look back over the last 20 years or so, what has happened in the last couple of months or so in relation to the west's engagement with the Russian Federation, I fear that we are at one of these turning points," he said. "Obviously the global situation in relation to the Russian Federation is now complex as a result of what we have seen in Georgia and most particularly in Southern Ossetia," he said. "We'll be working closely with international governments on the best response to the Russians." Australia "will spend a lot of time working our way through the question (of uranium sales) together with others on the west's long-term engagement with Russia," he said. Russia came under fire from a range of Western countries when its tanks and troops burst into Georgia last month to push back an offensive to retake South Ossetia, which broke away from Tbilisi in the early 1990s. Putin, who is now prime minister, has said Russia acted in accordance with international law when it sent its troops into Georgia. Australia, which has the world's largest known reserves of uranium, stipulated in its pact to sell the nuclear material to Russia that it not be used to make nuclear weapons or be sold on to any other country. Earlier this month, Russia's ambassador to Canberra warned that any decision to scrap the deal would be "politically biased" and could harm Australia's economic interests. Community Email This Article Comment On This Article Share This Article With Planet Earth
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