MOSCOW, RUSSIA- Today, U.S. Secretary of Energy Rick Perry and Ambassador Jon Huntsman met with Dr. Alexey

Likhachev, Chief Executive Officer of the Russian State Atomic Energy Corporation ROSATOM. ROSATOM is the Russian state-owned corporation responsible for all aspects of the Russian nuclear industry, including domestic nuclear power facility construction and operation, nuclear exports, and the Russian nuclear weapons complex.

Secretary Perry and Director Likhachev had a productive conversation discussing the importance of nuclear related matters – in terms of non proliferation and security as well as maintaining a productive and competitive global civilian nuclear market. The United States and Russia maintain a unique position of influence and expertise in nuclear security matters. The two nations have worked effectively on these issues in the past, both bilaterally and together with other partners. However, this cooperation has lessened in recent years despite the continued prominence of this challenge. Secretary Perry and Director Likhachev discussed potential opportunities for bilateral cooperation on these issues and the trends and future of private sector developments.

Finally, Secretary Perry expressed appreciation for the strong cooperation between the two governments over the past two decades on repatriating Russian-origin highly enriched uranium. Together, Russia and the United States have ensured permanent threat reduction by eliminating all weapons-usable nuclear material from more than a dozen countries.