Siemens to review mooted project with Rosatom

MUNICH, May 20 (AFP): German industrial group Siemens said Friday that it would review a nuclear alliance with Russian partner Rosatom after a court told Siemens it could not compete with former French ally Areva. "We are going to study this arbitration tribunal's decision and its implications with Rosatom," a Siemens spokesman told the reporter. "That will also be done taking into consideration events in Japan, the economic environment and social and political aspects" of nuclear energy, he added. Siemens has been ordered by an arbitration court to pay Areva 648 million euros ($927 million) to settle a dispute after the two groups ended their joint nuclear reactor venture Areva NP. The court also told Siemens it could not compete with Areva until September 25, 2013. Siemens launched talks on a possible joint venture with Rosatom two years ago but they struggled to advance, and the German company had said several times that the court's ruling would determine its next steps. According to German media, Siemens had begun to look for a way out of the project with Rosatom owing to the catastrophe at the Japanese nuclear power plant in Fukushima. Siemens is now orienting itself towards a strong position in alternative energy generation. The group's boss declined to sign a letter last year drafted by German companies in favour of nuclear energy, which indicated that it is no longer a high priority for Siemens.