Rosatom chief Sergei Kirienko, speaking after a meeting with Kazakh Prime Minister Danial Akhmetov, said the facility would serve "not only our two countries but any country that wanted to develop civilian nuclear power."

Rosatom said the center could begin producing enriched uranium some time next year.

Russian President Vladimir Putin last January called for the creation of a network of internationally controlled enrichment centers and facilities for treating nuclear fuel in order to make nuclear energy available to developing countries without sparking a proliferation in nuclear weapons.

US President George W. Bush has backed a similar plan.

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