FINANCIAL SNAGS MAY TORPEDO KURSK SALVAGE PROJECT








THE HAGUE, March 2. /RIA Novosti correspondent Andrei Poskakukhin/. If the issue on financing the Kursk salvage project is not solved in the near future, the submarine will not be raised in this year, secretary general of the Kursk international foundation Rio Praaning informed RIA Novosti.


	According to him, it will be dangerous or even impossible to salvage the sub, containing heavy armament and two nuclear reactors in a year. Rio Praaning hopes that the decision on financing the Kursk salvage project will be taken in the near future.


	The foundation's secretary general noted that Russian president Vladimir Putin supports the salvage project. As a result of his talks in Moscow last month Praaning concluded that the Russian government would take a half of all financing of the project.


	The foundation plans to get another half of necessary money from the Western states. Both state authorities and private firms can become sponsors of the project. According to Praaning, the top officials of the European commission, the German, Sweden governments, and other states' authorities have already announced their wish to participate in providing help to the project.


	Co-chairman of the foundation and former secretary of the West European's Union Willem van Ekelen estimated the project at USD 70 mln last year.


	The Russian nuclear submarine Kursk sunk in August, last year, in the Barents Sea.