MOSCOW (Reuters) - Iran told nuclear partner Russia on Wednesday it would have to show "readiness" to expand nuclear ties with Tehran to secure a solid share of Iran's atomic market in face of growing competition from Europe.
Moscow has built a $1 billion nuclear reactor in Iran in defiance of strong criticism from the United States, which believes Tehran can use the facility to make atomic bombs.
But Russia's stance on Iran toughened since President Vladimir Putin's re-election in March gave more priority to ties with Washington, with both softening their criticism of each others' military operations in Iraq and Chechnya.
Gholamreza Shafei, Iran's ambassador to Moscow, said further nuclear cooperation with Russia depended "on how much such ties will correspond with our national interests and also how much there is willingness from Russia to cooperate with ... Iran to broaden ties in peaceful nuclear energy use."
http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=worldNews&storyID=7102414
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