US-Russia pact faces opposition in Congress

Frederick J. Frommer

Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) — A U.S.-Russia civilian nuclear power deal signed Tuesday ran into immediate trouble on Capitol Hill, where two senators said they would try to block the deal because it could hurt efforts to prevent Iran from getting nuclear weapons.

Sen. Norm Coleman, R-Minn., along with Sen. Evan Bayh, D-Ind., are circulating a letter that will urge President Bush not to send the pact to Congress.

Under the deal signed Tuesday by U.S. and Russian officials in Moscow, the United States would get access to Russian state-of-the art nuclear technology. The pact would help Russia establish an international nuclear fuel storage facility by importing and storing spent fuel. The U.S. controls the vast majority of the world's nuclear fuel.

"I am very disappointed by the administration's insistence on moving forward to sign a nuclear cooperation arrangement with the Russians," Coleman said in a telephone interview. "Particularly at a time when Russia's actively undermining our foreign policy on various fronts, most importantly with respect to Iran."