TURKEY - July 27 - Ankara To Ban Nuclear Waste Passage Through The Bosporus.

IHT reports the maritime authority warnings about the danger from the rising number of oil tankers plying the Bosporus Strait "have taken on new urgency this month with Russia's decision to add nuclear waste to the volatile mix of cargo in the narrow strait". (Pres. Putin has approved bills allowing Russia to import 20,000 tons of spent nuclear fuel for disposal in the coming decade. Moscow hopes to earn $21 bn by accepting the spent fuel, much of which is likely to arrive through the Bosporus and the Dardanelles). Environment Minister Fevzi Aytekin is quoted by IHT as saying: "We have the intention of prohibiting the passage of vessels carrying nuclear waste. You cannot take such risks at any price". Minister for Naval Affairs Ramazan Mirzaoglu said Ankara would block the transportation of nuclear waste, adding: "I call this Russia's dirty trade. Russia sees it as legitimate and harmless that her own land would be used as a garbage dump. International public opinion should take a unified stand against this decision". (Analysts say, despite the tough talk, Ankara has almost no control over what passes through the Bosporus and the Dardanelles. Under the 1936 Montreux Convention, the straits are considered international waterways and Ankara cannot restrict their use in peacetime. Maritime authorities can check ships for sanitary conditions and safety but cannot stop their passage. Turkey cannot stop nuclear waste as long as it is stored properly and accompanied by the required paperwork. Russia is not expected to start transporting waste for about three years. Ankara officials hope the delay will give them time to push through new international laws to prohibit transferring nuclear waste by sea). Aytekin said he would raise the issue this autumn at a meeting of environmental ministers from the Mediterranean states.