Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD)

Russia, Iran to discuss protocol on return of spent nuclear fuel

IRNA

Moscow, Oct 28, Itar-Tass/ACSNA/IRNA -- Russia and Iran are to discuss
in Moscow on Wednesday a date and place of signing an additional 
protocol on Tehran`s returning spent nuclear fuel from reactor No. 1 
of Iran`s nuclear power plant constructed in Bushehr, a spokesman for 
the Russian Nuclear Energy Ministry told Itar-Tass on Tuesday. 
He said an Iranian delegation including Ambassador to Russia 
Gholam-Reza Shafei, deputy chief of the Iranian Atomic Energy 
Organization Asadollah Saidi and several top officials of this 
organization will take part in talks with the Nuclear Energy Ministry.
Saidi is chief of the Bushehr project, the spokesman said. 
He said, "It is also planned to discuss at the talks the progress 
of the construction according to the work schedule approved a month 
ago in Tehran." 
Iranian government`s spokesman Abdollah Ramezanzadeh said in 
Tehran on Monday that the `matter of signing with Russia the document 
on the return of spent nuclear fuel is at the stage of finalization`. 
He denied reports by some of the mass media that commencement of 
the Bushehr nuclear power plant will be delayed for two years. 
The Russian Nuclear Energy Ministry spokesman said the `text of 
the additional protocol on the return of spent nuclear fuel to the 
Russian-Iranian inter-governmental agreement on the construction of 
the nuclear power plant in Bushehr has been prepared by the two sides 
during the visit to Iran of Russian Nuclear Energy Minister Alexander 
Rumyantsev in the last year`s December`. 
/AH/210 
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