Rosatom chief: The West does not sanction Russian nuclear industry

The nuclear industry appears to be a "bond of common sense" today, despite all the disagreements, Alexei Likhachev, the head of Russia's State Agency for Atomic Power (Rosatom) said.

The global nuclear industry remains a bond of common sense that unites countries on the basis of advanced technologies, Rosatom chief Alexei Likhachev said speaking on Monday, November 21, at the plenary session of the Atomexpo 2022 International Forum in Sochi.

Over the past three years, the international nuclear community has stayed united in the context of the coronavirus pandemic.

"We have not severed any ties — commercial and scientific ones — with our partners. We can see a very interested response and a desire to overcome the difficulties of today together,” Likhachev said.

"Oddly enough, the nuclear industry now designates a real, rather than a declarative approach to the improvement of the planet. The global nuclear industry, at least for the moment, still remains a bond of common sense, despite the fact that there are so many discrepancies in the world today," the head of Rosatom said.

It is worthy of note that in contrast to other state-owned companies and sectors of economy, the West has not imposed any sanctions against either Rosatom or the Russian nuclear industry since the start of the special operation in Ukraine.

Hungary's Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Peter Szijjarto, who also took part in the session of Atomexpo, said that Hungary was consistently opposed to the imposition of sanctions against nuclear energy.

"The country's energy balance is a matter of sovereignty. Each country decides these issues independently. <…> If someone tries to interfere with our nuclear projects, we will consider this an encroachment on our sovereignty,” the Hungarian foreign minister said.