OREANDA-NEWS. November 08, 2012. Russia values highly the role, which the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) is playing in ensuring the non-proliferation regime, but calls for the improvement of the mechanisms of control over its fulfilment,” Russian Permanent Representative in the UN Vitaly Churkin said at a session of the UN General Assembly, which is devoted to the IAEA activities.

“We call for the improvement of IAEA controlling capabilities, particularly through the approval of an additional protocol to the Comprehensive Safeguards Agreement with the IAEA as a generally recognized instrument to inspect, how the countries are fulfilling their nuclear non-proliferation commitments,” the Russian permanent representative said. “An unbiased approach to nuclear inspections based on objective indicators is an important element to maintain the legitimacy of the IAEA safeguards system and the nuclear non-proliferation regime in general,” he said.

Vitaly Churkin noted “a unique nature of the IAEA inspection mechanism,” noting this “makes it possible with a high level of efficiency to supervise how the countries are fulfilling their commitments in the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty.”

IAEA Yukiya Amano said in an address to the participants in a session of the UN General Assembly on Monday that the number of countries, which signed an additional protocol to the IAEA Comprehensive Safeguards Agreement, reached 119. This document is a key IAEA instrument that permits the IAEA experts to hold extraordinary inspections at the nuclear sites in various countries, the IAEA general director said.

The Russian permanent representative noted that Russia supports actively the IAEA activities in financial aspect and is directly involved in the efforts to form a global infrastructure of the nuclear industry.

Churkin recalled that the International Uranium Enrichment Centre operates in Russia and the guaranteed reserve of the low enriched uranium is created under the IAEA supervision. “It is already fully formed, the IAEA states, which observe their nuclear non-proliferation commitments, can use it,” the Russian diplomat underlined.