Putin: Russia still supplies nuclear fuel to US

Russia continues to supply nuclear fuel to the United States, with the U.S. acting pragmatically, always keeping its own interests in mind, and Russia should do the same, Russian President Vladimir Putin stated.

According to the Russian press, Putin made these remarks during a meeting with members of the All-Russian Public Organisation “Delovaya Rossiya” ("Business Russia"), Caliber.Az reports.

“The U.S., despite everything, acts very pragmatically; they don’t forget about themselves. We still supply nuclear fuel to the U.S., and it's fine, we’re happy to do it. Why? Because it’s profitable. It’s right, and they’re doing well. Their economy is growing significantly, not 4.3%, but still very decent,” said Putin.

He also pointed out that, unlike the U.S., the main economies of Europe have essentially fallen into recession.

“And we should act in the same way — very pragmatically at every step. This needs to be done together: business, the administration, the labour collectives, as I’ve said. Listen to them, please, to the people, it’s always useful. And of course, the government, the Central Bank,” added the President.

Earlier, the U.S. imposed restrictions on acquiring Russian uranium (until 2027 inclusive), with a planned ban on imports of Russian uranium products starting in 2028.

In response, Russia introduced temporary restrictions on the export of enriched uranium to the U.S. These restrictions cover the export of enriched uranium to the U.S. or under foreign trade contracts with entities registered in U.S. jurisdiction. However, the restrictions allow for exceptions: supplies can occur under one-off licenses issued by the Federal Service for Technical and Export Control.

Rosatom, Russia's state nuclear corporation, did not disclose the volume of uranium exports from Russia for 2023 (reports for 2024 from both the corporation’s fuel division and Rosatom itself have not yet been published). However, in its 2023 report, Rosatom noted that it holds a 17% share of the global nuclear fuel market. Rosatom also mentioned fulfilling all obligations under existing contracts, with uranium products delivered to 33 customers from 14 countries. Traditional supply markets include Latin America, Africa, the Middle East, and Asia.

In 2023, Russia’s uranium production amounted to 2,700 tons, with the state corporation also having production facilities in Kazakhstan.

By Tamilla Hasanova