Egypt, Russia to Activate Contracts for Buying Nuclear Fuel

A Russian delegation visits Egypt to follow up on the nuclear project. (Nuclear Power Plants Authority)
A Russian delegation visits Egypt to follow up on the nuclear project. (Nuclear Power Plants Authority)
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Egypt, Russia to Activate Contracts for Buying Nuclear Fuel

A Russian delegation visits Egypt to follow up on the nuclear project. (Nuclear Power Plants Authority)
A Russian delegation visits Egypt to follow up on the nuclear project. (Nuclear Power Plants Authority)

Egyptian and Russian officials discussed on Monday activating contracts to purchase the nuclear fuel needed to operate Egypt’s Second Research Reactor (ETRR-2) by 2030.

Chairman of the Egyptian Atomic Energy Authority (EAEA) Amr El-Hag held talks with a Russian delegation from the Novosibirsk Chemical Concentrates Plant (NCCP) and TVEL Fuel Company of the state-owned Rosatom.

Talks tackled the implementation of the contracts inked between the two sides in 2017.

Under the contracts, Russia will supply another batch of uranium components and products made of the aluminum alloy and aluminum powder for the ETRR-2 and extend needed nuclear fuel for operating the reactor by 2030.

Hag stressed that the EAEA has qualified human cadres, laboratories and various research activities in the fields of peaceful uses of atomic energy.

He pointed to its expertise in manufacturing nuclear fuel for ETRR-2, which produces radioactive isotopes and covers the Egyptian local market.

Egypt’s second nuclear reactor is located at the Atomic Research Center in Inshas, ​​60 km northeast of Cairo.

It is used to conduct studies on particle physics research and matter and produce radioactive isotopes.

Egypt and Rosatom signed on December 11, 2017 several documents to put into force the commercial contracts for the construction of the El-Dabaa nuclear power plant.

The plant consists of four nuclear reactors, each with a capacity of 1,200 megawatts, with a total capacity of 4,800 megawatts.

They stipulate that Rosatom will build the El-Dabaa NPP on the Mediterranean coast, conduct personnel training and assist its Egyptian partners in the operation and maintenance of the plant for the first 10 years of its operation.

Russia is also contracted to build a special storage facility and supply containers for storing used nuclear fuel.



White House Urges Hamas to Sign on to New Deal to Ensure Hostage Release

Palestinian boys examine a car targeted in an Israeli army strike that killed several of its occupants in Deir al-Balah, central Gaza Strip, Friday, Jan. 3, 2025. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)
Palestinian boys examine a car targeted in an Israeli army strike that killed several of its occupants in Deir al-Balah, central Gaza Strip, Friday, Jan. 3, 2025. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)
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White House Urges Hamas to Sign on to New Deal to Ensure Hostage Release

Palestinian boys examine a car targeted in an Israeli army strike that killed several of its occupants in Deir al-Balah, central Gaza Strip, Friday, Jan. 3, 2025. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)
Palestinian boys examine a car targeted in an Israeli army strike that killed several of its occupants in Deir al-Balah, central Gaza Strip, Friday, Jan. 3, 2025. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)

The Biden administration is urging Hamas to sign on to a new ceasefire deal that would ensure the release of hostages, White House National Security spokesperson John Kirby told reporters on Friday.

Kirby said the White House welcomed Israel's decision to send another team to Doha to continue negotiations.

The United States, Egypt and Qatar have been trying to mediate a deal for a ceasefire and hostage release for a year with no success and are making another push this month before Donald Trump's inauguration.
Ceasefire efforts have continually stumbled on a fundamental disagreement over how to end the conflict. Hamas says it will accept an agreement and release the hostages only if Israel commits to ending the war. Israel says it will agree to stop fighting only once Hamas is destroyed.

On Friday, Hamas said it wanted "a complete ceasefire, the withdrawal of occupation forces from the Gaza Strip" and the return of displaced people to their homes in all areas of the enclave.

US President Joe Biden has repeatedly called for a ceasefire agreement. Trump has said that if there is not a deal to release the hostages before his inauguration, "all hell is going to break out.”