Russia To Complete Iran's Bushehr Nuclear Power Plant On Time

[Purveyor]

MOSCOW, February 9 (RIA Novosti) - Russia will complete the construction of the $1 billion Bushehr nuclear power plant in southern Iran on schedule, a Russian Foreign Ministry official said on Monday.

"I want to stress once again the readiness of the Russian side to complete the construction of the Bushehr nuclear power plant within the set timeframe. I believe that after the shipment of nuclear fuel for the electric power plant that took place last year, the Iranian side should have no doubts on this score," said Alexander Maryasov, director of one of the ministry's Asia departments.

The construction of the Bushehr nuclear power plant was started in 1975 by German companies. However, the German firms stopped work after the imposition of a U.S. embargo on high technology supplies to Iran following the 1979 Islamic Revolution and the subsequent capture of the U.S. embassy in Tehran.

Russia signed a contract with Iran to finish work on the plant in February 1998. Iran's first nuclear power plant was originally scheduled for commissioning at the end of 2006, but the date has been postponed several times. Russia has cited financial problems for the delay, with Iran accusing it of caution amid suspicions by Western powers that Tehran could be seeking nuclear weapons. The Islamic Republic insists it needs its nuclear program to provide civilian energy.

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RIA NOVOSTI: http://en.rian.ru/russia/20090209/120056521.html