President Putin and seated on stage (L-R) Dr. Yoshikawa, Dr. Aymar, and Acad. Velikhov

On Tuesday 13th June 2006, the Russian President, Vladimir Putin, presented the Global Energy International Prize to Academician Evgeniy Velikhov, Dr. Robert Aymar, and Dr. Masaji Yoshikawa "for the development of the scientific and engineering foundation for building the International Thermonuclear Reactor (ITER project)".

The Global Energy International Prize, worth $1.1 million, is intended to assist international cooperation in solving the most important problems in the field of power generation. The prize is financed by the Russian oil companies Gazprom, UES of Russia, and Yukos, and is awarded by an international committee of thirty scientists from nine different countries, including three Nobel Laureates.