US lawmakers urge Rubio to seek tough standards in any Saudi nuclear power pact

A dozen Democratic U.S. lawmakers on Wednesday urged Secretary of State Marco Rubio to push for "gold standard" non-proliferation protections in any agreement with Saudi Arabia on sharing nuclear power technology.



The administration of Republican President Donald Trump told leaders of some congressional committees in November in an initial reportthat it is pursuing a civil nuclear pact with Saudi Arabia that does not include non-proliferation safeguards the U.S. has long said would ensure the kingdom does not develop nuclear weapons.



Many Democrats and some Republicans, including Rubio when he served in the Senate, have insisted any agreement include guardrails, including that Saudi Arabia not enrich uranium or reprocess spent nuclear fuel - potential pathways to weapons.



Trump's report to Congress said a draft U.S.-Saudi pact, known as a 123 Agreement, puts the U.S. industry at the heart of Saudi civil nuclear development, ensuring non-proliferation safeguards are in place.



But it opens the way for Saudi Arabian enrichment as it refers to "additional safeguards and verification measures to the most sensitive areas of potential nuclear cooperation" between the U.S. and Saudi Arabia, including enrichment and reprocessing.