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Moscow to continue peaceful nuclear cooperation with Iran

IRNA - Islamic Republic News Agency

Moscow, Dec 14, IRNA -- Head of Russian Atomic Energy Agency pledged 
here Tuesday that his country will continue with peaceful nuclear 
cooperation with Iran in 2005. 
Alexander Rumyantsev told IRNA that Kremlin is keen on pursuing 
expansion of economic, political and nuclear cooperation with Tehran. 
He also welcomed recent nuclear agreement between Iran and 
European Union and hailed Iran`s efforts including confidence building
over its nuclear program. 
On a question on his scheduled trip to Tehran for signing of the 
delivery agreement of Bushehr powerplant nuclear fuel and the return 
its spent nuclear fuel, he said "this depends on Tehran`s readiness to
sign the contract." 
Previously, the Russian officials had said that Rumyantsev will 
visit Tehran to sign the final spent fuel agreement towards the end 
of 2004. 
Tehran and Moscow are working out technical details of an 
agreement to bring a nuclear power plant in the Iranian port city of 
Bushehr on line in 2006, the Chairman of the Russian Federation 
Council, Sergei Mironov, said here Saturday. 
The power plant, has seen several dates for its operation pushed 
back from its initial target of 2003. 
In August, Iran said the plant would become operational in 
October 2006, a year behind the schedule. 
Mironov, who arrived in Tehran Saturday for a one-day visit, 
stressed Iran`s right to peaceful nuclear technology in the framework 
of the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), of which the country 
is a signatory. 
Once operational, the Bushehr power plant is projected to 
generate 1,000 megawatts of electricity, 6,000 megawatts less than the
target which Iran has set to produce by 2021 in nuclear power 
plants. 
But, its construction has been dogged by a whole slew of 
`complexities`, primarily the deal on the return of spent fuel and 
its costs. 
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