Howard refuses to confirm uranium sales

MELBOURNE: Australian Prime Minister John Howard has refused to confirm whether a proposed uranium deal, allowing sale of the nuclear fuel to Russia, will be signed on the sidelines of the APEC summit.

A Russian official was quoted in a media report last week as saying that the former Soviet state would sign a civil nuke deal with Australia this week.

"The agreement will be signed during President (Vladimir) Putin's trip to Australia," a Russian official close to the situation said.

However, Howard refused to divulge any details.

"I'm not going to speculate on all the stuff in the papers on deals with different countries," Howard told a local TV channel here.

"If there are any arrangements announced, then I'm going to explain them in detail when those arrangements are announced," he said.

"I find this piecemeal response to speculation not very useful" he added.

Australian Foreign Minister Alexander Downer last month said Australian uranium could feed Russian nuclear reactors as early as next year, with arrangements to be signed during the APEC leaders' forum in Sydney.

Australia already sells uranium to China and has reached an in-principle agreement to sell uranium to India, which is not a signatory to the nuclear non-proliferation treaty.