As global anxieties grow over Iran’s alleged atomic bomb program, Russia, with U.S. backing, has floated a plan to help energy-starved countries obtain access to nuclear power while restricting the flow of weapons-grade uranium to those who might harbour military ambitions. The scheme, announced by President Vladimir Putin at a news conference last week, would extend to all countries a similar deal to the one Russia has offered to defuse Iran’s nuclear crisis. Under its terms, the vulnerable stages of the nuclear fuel cycle – uranium enrichment and radioactive waste disposal – would be confined to a few specialized centres in Russia and the U.S. Full Story