Sep 16 - Daily News Bulletin; Moscow

Russia does not plan to bring in foreign spent nuclear fuel, Federal Atomic Energy Agency chief Alexander Rumyantsev said on Wednesday.

Although this is permitted by law, "not a single gram of foreign spent nuclear fuel has been or will be brought to Russia within the next few years," he said.

Russia is building nuclear power plants in China, Iran and India, and will supply fresh nuclear fuel there, Rumyantsev said. The legal possibility of returning the spent nuclear fuel back to the country of origin must be provided for, he said.

Laws that allow the return of spent nuclear fuel to Russia also ensure Russia's presence on world markets, Rumyantsev said.

Russia has a problem with spent fuel storage facilities located near nuclear power plants, as they may be filled within 2.5 years, he said. A dry storage place for spent fuel will be built in Krasnoyarsk within three or four years, and meanwhile the current storage facilities will be enlarged, he said.

"It will not be very difficult to provide for safe storage of waste with our resources," he said.