Media: American companies ask not to ban the import of uranium from Russia

United States President Joe Biden noted that the authorities will listen to companies, but, at the same time, will continue to impose new sanctions against the Russian Federation.

This is reported by Reuters, citing its sources. One media interlocutor explained that American nuclear power is dependent on cheap Russian uranium.

Nima Ashkebussy, head of the American National Energy Institute, advocated diversification of uranium supplies.

“Russia is a significant global supplier of commercial nuclear fuel, but US utilities are contracting the necessary fuel with a network of businesses and countries around the world to mitigate the risks of a potential supply disruption”, - he said.

Recall that about half of the uranium needed for the operation of US nuclear power plants is supplied from the Russian Federation, Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan. According to the World Nuclear Association, in 2020, the supply volumes amounted to 10.3 million kg. At the same time, nuclear power plants account for the production of 20% of electricity in the United States.

It should be noted that especially tough sanctions from Western countries against Russia began to be introduced on February 24 - after Russian President Vladimir Putin announced a special operation in Ukraine. Joe Biden said that an alternative to anti-Russian restrictive measures would be a "Third world war".