Friday, Mar 23, 2007
Opinion
A nuclear plant and a diplomatic game http://www.hindu.com/2007/03/23/stories/2007032305801100.htm
Vladimir Radyuhin
Is it a mere payment crisis or part of a tactic to get Moscow to block in the Security Council tougher U.N. sanctions against Iran?
[- FILE PHOTO: AP
The reactor building of Iran's nuclear power plant at Bushehr.]
THE FATE of the Russia-built nuclear power plant in Bushehr in Iran has become the focal point of a complicated diplomatic game. The matter has almost overshadowed the tougher sanctions against Iran that are under discussion in the U.N. Security Council.
The game began last year when Tehran started falling behind on monthly payments of $25 million to Atomstroiexport, the Russian contractor of the Bushehr plant. Such delays had occurred in the past, and the $1-billion project was ready to the extent of 90 per cent. So Atomstroiexport decided to carry on as usual, while it tried to settle the payment dispute with the Iranian Atomic Energy Organisation (IAEO).
However, in January 2007, the payments stopped altogether. By that time the dues had run up to over $50 million, and the Russian contractor began to show signs of nervousness. Spokesmen for Atomstroiexport said that while the company was going ahead with the project, payment delays were holding up equipment delivery by sub-contractors.
An IAEO delegation was called to Moscow to discuss the problem. However, three days of talks with IAEO deputy director Mohammed Saeedi between March 7 and 9 brought no results. Talks continued in Tehran a week later, but were again adjourned for two weeks for Iran's New Year holidays.
Tehran has denied any payment delays and suggested the Russian contractor was having financial problems of its own. Tehran demanded that Russia honour its pledge to ship nuclear fuel for Bushehr before the end of March as per schedule. Atomstroiexport said fuel deliveries would be delayed, because payment problems were causing delays in the supply of equipment from third countries. For instance, the cooling system, critical to the station's safety system, must be installed before fuel can be shipped.
Media speculation
The payment row fuelled media speculation that Moscow was trying to apply political pressure on Tehran to comply with the U.N. Security Council demand to halt uranium enrichment. Russia has denied using Bushehr as a bargaining chip, but an informed Kremlin source accused Tehran of "abusing" Russia's diplomatic support while doing nothing to prove that its nuclear programme was indeed peaceful.
"We absolutely do not want Iran getting a nuclear bomb or the potential to make one," the source was quoted as saying. "We will not play any kind of anti-American games with them."
The Kremlin warning to Tehran was taken as conclusive proof that Moscow had finally sided with the West in having a standoff with Iran.
A report in The New York Times this week said Moscow had issued an "ultimatum" to Tehran that Russia would withhold fuel unless Iran suspended enrichment. Moscow issued a formal denial, but did little to dispel the impression that it was playing the Bushehr card in a bid to bend Iran to the U.N.
Meanwhile, Russia seems to have been drawn into a game it did not start. A source familiar with the talks on the payment crisis said Tehran was asking Moscow to block in the Security Council tougher U.N. sanctions against Iran in exchange for full payment for Bushehr.
The demand enraged Moscow which, as it is, has consistently supported Iran in the Security Council. "The Iranians think that Russia has a political interest in having Iran on its side, and therefore they can play games with Russia," said political scholar Alexei Malashenko.
Tehran seems to be trying to embarrass Moscow and bring into question its image as a reliable partner. It has already succeeded in putting Moscow on the defensive. Washington has joined in the game, "confirming" reports that Moscow has sold out to the West on the matter.
The Iranian leadership has also used the Russian refusal to supply fuel for Bushehr to mobilise further public support at home for its nuclear programme. "This [Russian decision] shows that there is no such thing as a guarantee to deliver nuclear fuel," top nuclear negotiator Ali Larijani said last week. "Hence Iran's demand to provide and produce its own fuel." Some analysts do not rule out a theory that Tehran may be trying to hold back the $200 million it is to pay Russia for Bushehr till the threat of a U.S. military strike against Iran dissipates.
Copyright © 2007, The Hindu.