MOSCOW —  Russian and U.S. officials are to sign an agreement on civilian nuclear power that would reverse decades of little cooperation and hand Russia lucrative deals on storing spent nuclear fuel.

A U.S. Embassy spokesperson says the deal is to be inked Tuesday, the last day of Vladimir Putin's presidency. Dmitry Medvedev succeeds Putin as president Wednesday.

Work on the agreement got under way after Putin and U.S. President George W. Bush pledged to boost cooperation in the field at the G-8 summit in St. Petersburg in 2006.

The Bush administration's willingness to reverse course and work together appears to reflect the U.S. view that Moscow is now a partner in the effort to persuade Tehran to abandon its nuclear weapons ambitions.