TUESDAY, MAY 27, 2003
Iranian nuclear power plant on schedule: Russia
AP
MOSCOW: A Russian-built nuclear power plant in Iran that has raised strong US concerns that it could be used to make nuclear weapons is set to go online on schedule, the Russian Atomic Energy Agency said on Tuesday.
Atomic Energy Minister Alexander Rumyantsev maintained that the construction of the plant in the southern port city of Bushehr won't be affected by recent events in US-Iranian relations, according to a report by ITAR-Tass news agency.
"We will continue to fulfill our obligations despite the fact that our positions on this issue differ from those of official Washington," Rumyantsev said after meeting the deputy head of the Iranian Atomic Energy Organization, Asadullah Saburi. "The Russian side does not see grounds to revise its obligations."
Washington has recently taken a much harsher line against Iran and accused it of harboring al-Qaeda terrorists suspected of being connected to the recent bombings in Saudi Arabia and Morocco.
Still, Rumyantsev said Russia would hold monthly consultations with the US Department of Energy to discuss the plant.
The ministry said the work schedule at the plant had been adjusted, according to a report, but that its first reactor at the would still start work on time. The plant, Iran's first, is set to start operation next year.
The United States has expressed strong worries that the $800 million plant could be used in the development of nuclear weapons, claims that Russia has long rebuffed.
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