OREANDA-NEWS. May 29, 2008. The United States is interested in bringing US-Russia Civil Nuclear Agreement into force at an early date, says the report on The U.S.-Russia Civil Nuclear Agreement published by the Center for Strategic and International Studies on Wednesday.

The agreement can give the U.S. leverage with the Russians. But this comes not from withholding U.S. approval of the agreement; it comes from implementing the agreement and giving the Russians a tangible, vested interest in continuing to cooperate with the United States. The best way to gain that cooperation is to bring the U.S.-Russia 123 Agreement into force at an early date.

The agreement was signed in Moscow on May 6, 2008. On May 13, the White House transmitted the 123 Agreement and its supporting documentation to the Congress for its consideration. The U.S.-Russia agreement meets all the legal requirements set forth in Section 123 of the Atomic Energy Act.

Such agreements take force 90 days after submission to the Congress unless rejected by the Congressmen. If the latter wish to block an agreement they should adopt a special resolution.