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Russia calls for more to be done to combat threat of nuclear terror
RIA Novosti

Vienna, 19 September: One of the most important aspects of the fight against nuclear terrorism is the creation of a basis for it in international law, the head of the Russian Atomic Energy Agency, Aleskandr Rumyantsev, has said in Vienna at an international conference entitled "The Global Threat Reductive Initiative".

As Rumyantsev noted at the IAEA conference, "something that is assuming particular importance is the organization of broad international cooperation on all aspects of the prevention and detection of instances of terrorism, of the smuggling and illegal trading of nuclear materials, as well as on the exchange of relevant information and the collaboration of special services".

He went on to say at that the moment there are a whole range of international agreements establishing requirements for measures on the physical protection of nuclear materials.

At the same time, Rumyantsev stressed, "actual instances of the seizure of nuclear and radioactive materials that have occurred in various countries show that states and competent international should consistently and constantly improve the complex of measures aimed at ensuring nuclear and physical security".

Rumyantsev said that "today we cannot fully rule out the probability of fissile materials, including enriched uranium and plutonium, as well as technologies lending themselves to the creation of nuclear weapons, falling into the hands of international terrorists."