Russian ambassador Alexander Kadakin on Friday said that if India insisted on implementing the nuclear liability law, which also puts onus of compensation for any accident on suppliers, then the price of Koodankulam III and IV will certainly go up.
The issue is expected to find place in talks between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on December 24, when the former will be in Delhi for a day to participate in the 13th annual summit.
“If India insists on nuclear liability, the price of units III and IV will go up,” he said.
Kadakin reiterated Russia’s traditional stance that the third and fourth unit are offshoots of the original pact for Koodankulam - referring to them as “grandsons of the original agreement”. Therefore, the terms and condition should be in line with that of unit 1 and 2,” he added.
Despite the threat of price increase, Kadakin said that Russia has not yet changed the terms of credit for the two prospective units.
So far, India has remained consistent that it would implement the civil nuclear liability law for KK-3 and KK-4 units.