A newly approved agreement that could pave the way for Saudi Arabia to enrich fuel for civilian nuclear reactors has raised concerns among observers, but U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio assured on Thursday that the U.S.-backed agreement will include safeguards, CNN reports.
“When countries decide they want to develop a peaceful nuclear energy program for civilian purposes, we would prefer that they do it with us rather than with any other country. This allows us to have influence over the direction that program will take,” Rubio told reporters from the ASEAN summit in Manila.
Rubio emphasized that Riyadh is a “strategic partner” and that the agreement makes sense.
“Suffice it to say that any agreement we make with any country in the world regarding civilian nuclear energy will include safeguards to ensure that it cannot be turned into a nuclear weapons program, and one of the best safeguards is making sure that American technology and American companies are the ones involved in carrying it out,” he said.
The agreement, which was approved by President Donald Trump on Wednesday, will now be sent to Congress for mandatory review.
