January 30, 2008 (LPAC)--Although Presidents Bush and Putin initialed an agreement in July during their Kennebunkport summit in Maine, for U.S.-Russia cooperation in civilian nuclear energy, that agreement has not yet been signed, and may be being sabotaged.

According to a Russian source involved with the negotiations, Washington has decided to hold the "123" cooperation agreement, as it was called, hostage to Russian policy on Iran--meaning, trying to pressure Russia to support further UN sanctions, and other punitive measures.

For years, former Vice President Al Gore tried, unsuccessfully, to get Russia to cancel its contract to complete the Bushehr nuclear power plant in Iran. When the two sitting Presidents initialed their approval of the agreement last July, the Bush Administration said Bushehr would not stand in the way of cooperation. But, apparently, Russian action against Iran's uranium enrichment and perhaps other nuclear activities, will now determine whether the civilian nuclear pact is signed.

And the Congress, which will have 90 days from the signing to "dispose" on the agreement, has passed into law the Iran Counter-Proliferation Act, which bars any nuclear cooperation with Russia, as long as Russia has any nuclear cooperation with Iran.