Russia sees no foreign hand behind K-stir

CHENNAI:  Russia on Saturday rejected conspiracy theories over the involvement of foreign hands in the anti-Koodankulam Nuclear Power Project (KKNP) stir.Speaking to Express after the inauguration of a seminar on ‘Globalisation and Food Security’ at the Russian Centre for Science and Culture in association with All India Foreign Medical Graduates Association here on Saturday, Deputy Consul General of Russia Sergey Soloviev said that there was no involvement of foreign hands in Koodankulam protests.“I don’t think there is involvement of any foreign hand in orchestrating the protests. France and the USA are also investing in reactors and what will they get if they fuel the protests,” asked Soloviev while rejecting the conspiracy theories.However, he did blame the priests stating that the ‘role of priests is not good.’His statement comes in the wake of V Narayanasamy, Minister of State in the PM’s Office, stating that the anti-KKNPP agitation was being funded by foreign agencies and an investigation was on to unmask the sponsors. He said the protests were due to the ignorance of the people about the nuclear issue and the need for energy to develop. The diplomat said that after the Chernoboyl incident, the safety of Russian reactors has been upgraded. He, however, refused to comment on the nuclear liability law.Earlier after inaugurating the seminar, he said the event was a prelude to the BRIC (Brazil, Russia, India and China) international conference on food security which would be held in India in the next three months.