DHAKA: Russia is warning that a United States strike on Syria’s atomic facilities might result in a nuclear catastrophe, and is urging the United Nations to present a risk analysis of such a scenario.

The warning comes from Russia’s foreign ministry spokesman Alexander Lukashevich.

He said in a statement on Wednesday that a strike on a miniature reactor near Damascus or other nuclear installations could contaminate the region with radioactivity, adding, ‘he consequences could be catastrophic’, The Straits Times publishes this report on Thursday.

International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) spokesman Gill Tudor told media in an email message on Thursday that her agency is ready to ‘consider the questions raised’ by Lukashevich if it receives a formal request to do so from Moscow.

Russia’s Interfax news agency says that Moscow intends to bring up the issue at next week`s 35-nation IAEA board meeting.

BDST: 1506 HRS, SEPT 05, 2013
RoR/Jck