nuclear-news

Republican Senator against Vietnam being allowed to enrich uranium

Senior Republican Criticizes State on Vietnam Nuclear Deal – Washington Wire – WSJ, By Jay Solomon, 7 Aug 2010, Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, ranking Republican on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, today criticized an Obama administration plan to forge a nuclear-cooperation agreement with Vietnam.U.S. officials have told the Wall Street Journal in recent days that the State Department is in advanced discussions with Vietnam to share nuclear fuels and technologies in a deal that would preserve Hanoi’s right to enrich uranium indigenously.

The U.S. stance breaks significantly from the hard-line position the State Department has taken in recent negotiations with key Arab states. Countries like Jordan and the United Arab Emirates have been told they need to renounce their rights to produce nuclear fuel at home in return for American support.

“Vietnam’s communist regime cannot and must not be trusted,” Ros-Lehtinen said in a statement Friday. “It certainly does not deserve a reward such as a nuclear-cooperation agreement with the U.S.”….

The state-run English-language China Daily ran a front-page article on the issue today, quoting Teng Jianqun, deputy director of the China Arms Control and Disarmament Association, a Beijing-based NGO: “The U.S. is used to employing double standards when dealing with different countries,” he said. “As a global power that has promoted denuclearization, it has challenged its own reputation and disturbed the preset international order.”

Senior Republican Criticizes State on Vietnam Nuclear Deal – Washington Wire – WSJ

August 7, 2010 - Posted by Christina Macpherson | general | antinuclear, enriched, nuclear weapons, uranium