At the Nuclear Summit held this week in Washington, D.C., Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili informed other world leaders of his government’s role in foiling a plot to sell enriched uranium. The enriched uranium was more than 70% enriched and was discovered during a sting operation in March. The amount was small, however the gang selling it had advertised that this was a sample of a much larger quantity available elsewhere.
This is not Georgia’s first time dealing with these problems. Georgia has foiled eight attempts of trafficking of enriched uranium in the last ten years, with the most notable occurring in 2006 when a smuggler was arrested for trying to sell 100g of 90% enriched uranium in Georgia.
This announcement further echoed the need for leaders to come together and discuss this issue. President Obama called on the leaders “not simply to talk, but to act”. The leaders came to some agreements during the summit, including Russian President Medvedev’s agreement to shut down the last plutonium producing plant in his country. France’s President Nicolas Sarkozy agreed to open a nuclear site to UN inspectors, and announced that he would like to see any leader who is found to be transferring nuclear materials to terrorists to be tried before an international court.
Read more at the Guardian.
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