BERLIN (AFP) - Germany announced Tuesday the temporary shutdown of the oldest seven of its 17 nuclear reactors pending a safety review in light of Japan's atomic emergency. "We are launching a safety review of all nuclear reactors ... with all reactors in operation since the end of 1980 set to be idled for the period of the (three-month) moratorium," Chancellor Angela Merkel said. This covers seven nuclear reactors in Germany, which decided a decade ago to be nuclear-free by 2020, a target postponed until the mid-2030s by Merkel's government late last year - despite strong public opposition. "After this moratorium, which will run until June 15... we will know how to proceed," Merkel said following crisis talks in Berlin with premiers of German states where there are nuclear plants. She said Berlin would also use the period to discuss what to do with radioactive waste - no permanent storage site exists - boosting renewable energies, and international safety standards for nuclear power. "Safety standards in Germany are one thing, they are important, but safety standards in Europe, being able to compare then, and international safety standards are also important," Merkel said. Germany's older plants include one in Bavaria, two near Frankfurt and two in the southwestern state of Baden-Wuerttemberg - where a key state election takes place on March 27, with nuclear power set to be a major issue. Meanwhile, Prime Minister Vladimir Putin on Tuesday ordered Russia to carry out a review of the future of its atomic energy sector after the Japanese earthquake. "I request that the energy ministry, nuclear agency and environment ministry carry out an analysis of the current condition of the atomic sector and an analysis of the plans for future development," he told an official meeting. Putin ordered that "within one month the results of the investigation (are delivered) to the government."