Russia says ready to complete Bushehr plant - Tass
MOSCOW, May 16 (Reuters) Russia is ready to complete building Iran's first nuclear power plant despite a payments dispute, Russia's deputy foreign minister said today, Itar-Tass news agency reported.
Moscow ''has the political readiness and resolve to carry out the project for constructing the first Iranian atomic power station at Bushehr'', Alexander Losyukov told reporters in Tehran, Tass reported.
''The situation surrounding Bushehr is really concerning for the Iranian side,'' he said. ''Tehran is especially concerned about the question of delivering nuclear fuel to the future station, which is being delayed for objective reasons.'' Russian and Iranian officials clashed earlier this year over what Moscow says were millions of US dollars in missed payments for building the plant in southwest Iran.
Russia delayed sending nuclear fuel to the plant and said the launch of the plant would be delayed. Analysts said the move was evidence of a tougher line from Moscow because of impatience with President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.
Iran said it was up to date with its commitments and the delay showed it was right to press on with parallel work to make its own nuclear fuel independently of other countries.
The United States and some European Union countries suspect Iran is trying to develop nuclear weapons under cover of its civilian nuclear programme. Iran says its nuclear programme is purely to generate electricity.
''Russia is not reneging on its commitments, we have told this to our colleagues,'' Tass quoted Losyukov as saying.
''But we also say that the fulfilment of this project is only possible if the Iranians comply with the principles of the Non-Proliferation Treaty, cooperate with the International Atomic Energy Agency and are prepared to return spent nuclear fuel abroad.'' Russia, a permanent member of the United Nations Security Council, has voted for sanctions against Iran but says Tehran has the right to civilian nuclear power.
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