MOSCOW, September 3 (RIA Novosti) - Australia has banned the export of all uranium to Russia, the country’s Prime Minister Tony Abbott said Wednesday speaking to parliament.
“There will be no uranium sales to Russia until further notice and Australia has no intention of selling uranium to a country which is so obviously in breach of international law as Russia currently is,” Abbott was quoted as saying by Reuters.
This confirms claims made by the country’s finance minister Mathias Cormann in August that the Australian government was considering a ban on expoting uranium to Russia.
Furthermore, Abbott mentioned that he hopes to sign a uranium trade deal with India. Previously, Australia had refused to do this because India is not party to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty.
Abbott also proposed to supply non-lethal military and humanitarian aid to Kiev for its assistance in bringing home the bodies of MH17 Malaysia Airlines flight disaster victims, following the crash in Ukrainian airspace in July. Kiev claims it was downed by eastern Ukraine’s pro-independence forces, who deny the accusations.
Australia holds the largest uranium deposits in the world. In 2007, Moscow and Canberra signed a cooperation agreement on the use of nuclear power. The first delivery of Australian uranium reached Russia in 2012.
Australia was among the Western countries, which introduced several rounds of sanctions against Russia over its stance in the Ukrainian conflict, together with the European Union and the United States. In particular, Canberra barred entry to certain individuals it considered to be personally involved in the crisis and imposed targeted financial sanctions. In response, Moscow has banned the import of certain food products from the countries, which initiated the economic restrictions, including Australia.
