MfD: US and Russian presidents could announce joint bid for Czech nuclear power tender

If the presidents of the United States and Russia meet in Prague next week, they could announce a joint bid to provide nuclear technology to the Czech Republic, the newspaper Mladá fronta Dnes reported. There has been speculation that Barack Obama and Dmitry Medvedev will sign a new treaty on nuclear disarmament in the Czech capital on Friday. However, the Czech foreign minister, Jan Kohout, has said Prague is an unlikely choice of venue for such a meeting. Saturday’s edition of Mladá fronta Dnes quoted a source as saying that if the two leaders do come to the city, they may announce a joint bid in a tender for the completion of the Temelín nuclear power plant in south Bohemia and the building of other nuclear stations in the future. Both the American firm Westinghouse and Russia’s Atomstroy are reportedly interested in what would be one of the biggest such contracts in Europe.

In a speech at Prague Castle in April, President Obama outlined his policy on nuclear weapons and signalled his intention of securing a new agreement with Moscow by the end of the year. The Start II treaty between the two countries, which was signed in 1993, officially expires on Saturday.