Russian and U.S. officials signed an important agreement on civilian nuclear power that will give the United States access to Russian technology and could hand Moscow lucrative deals for storing spent fuel.

The deal, signed May 6 on the eve of Dmitry Medvedev's inauguration as president, signals a reversal in U.S. policy on cooperating with Russia on nuclear issues. Cooperation had cooled in recent years, mainly due to disagreements over how to handle the perceived nuclear threat from Iran.