U.S. State Department spokesman Tom Casey said Wednesday that Burma has neither the regulatory nor the safety provisions to successfully handle a nuclear program of this type.
Russia's atomic energy agency announced Tuesday it has signed an agreement with Burma's military government to jointly design and build a 10-megawatt, light-water reactor to run on 20 % enriched uranium.
The Russian agency, Rosatom, said the facility will operate under controls of the International Atomic Energy Agency.
Russia and China have become major suppliers of arms to Burma since the West imposed sanctions in 1988 over Burma's poor human rights record.