Russia decries U.S. accord withdrawal

MOSCOW, Sept. 9 (UPI) -- The Russian Foreign Ministry said Tuesday that a U.S. decision to freeze a civil nuclear agreement with Russia was a mistake.

President George W. Bush withdrew from the nuclear accord amid Russia's recent incursion in to the Republic of Georgia, RIA Novosti reported.

"We view the steps made by the U.S. administration as a straightforward breach of its commitments, which harms our partnership relations and closes the route to mutually beneficial cooperation on many issues in the sphere of civilian nuclear power," the statement said.

U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice announced Monday that the United States was withdrawing from the agreement that would have boosted commercial nuclear trade between the two nations.

"We make this decision with regret. Unfortunately, given the current environment, the time is not right for this agreement," she said in a statement.