U.S. Energy Secretary Spencer Abraham To Hold Meetings In Moscow

Russian Deputy Prime Minister Viktor Khristenko and U.S. Energy Secretary Spencer Abraham will discuss the situation on world oil markets and measures to stabilise world oil prices at a meeting in Moscow on Thursday, said Press Secretary of the Deputy Prime Minister Stanislav Naumov. Mr. Khristenko and Mr. Abraham will also touch upon issues of the two countries' cooperation in fuel and energy, implementation of U.S. oil and gas companies-led projects on the Russian market, and Russian oil companies' presence on the U.S. market. The officials will also address prospects of the operation of the Caspian pipeline, which has just opened. On Thursday, the U.S. energy secretary will meet with Chief Commander of the Russian Navy Admiral Vladimir Kuroyedov. They will discuss the current state and future developments in U.S.-Russian cooperation in the area of environmental safety. In this regard, Mr. Kuroyedov and Mr. Abraham will address the environmental situation in Northern and Pacific Regions, as well as dismantlement of Russian nuclear submarines with financial and technical assistance from the U.S. On Thursday, the high-ranking U.S. official will also meet with Yevgeny Velikhov, an academician and the president of the Russian Scientific Centre Kurchatov Institute. The Institute administration said that the sides would talk about prospects of cooperation of nuclear scientists from Russian and the U.S. on developing the nuclear energy sector. They will also consider an international project to build a nuclear power plant in Canada, which will have new plasma reactors. It is expected that apart from nuclear engineers from Russia and the U.S., Canadian, German, British, and French nuclear scientists will also participate in the project. The project is based on Russian research.