Kiriyenko to head Russia's newly-created Rosatom State Coroporatio

Moscow, Feb 5 (UNI) The head of the Russian Federal Nuclear Power Agency (Rosatom), Sergei Kiriyenko will take up the post of the director-general of the newly-created Rosatom State Coroporation, created by way of reorganisation of the Federal Nuclear Power Agency.

Russian Prime Minister Viktor Zubkov last night relieved Kiriyenko of his duties as the head of the Federal Nuclear Power Agency (Rosatom) to allow him to take up the new post, Russian news agencies reported.

Rosatom told Itar-Tass the order was connected with the fact that on December 12, 2007 President Vladimir Putin had appointed Kiriyenko as the director-general of the Rosatom State Corporation.

The corporation will control the joint stock company Atomenergoprom, nuclear weapon enterprises, fundamental research institutes and enterprises working in the field of nuclear and radiation safety.

The new organisation will ensure the implementation of the state policy and unified use of atomic energy, stable operation of the nuclear energy industry and the nuclear weapon sector, nuclear and radiation safety, as well as create conditions for stable operation of defence enterprises.

It will also fulfil international obligations in the field of peaceful use of atomic energy and nuclear materials.

Rosatom, together with the Defence Ministry, will present annual reports on the state of the nuclear weapon industry to the Russian President.

Earlier, Kiriyenko told journalists that the consolidation of Rostom and Atomenergoprom would be completed at the end of the first quarter of 2008.

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