The Hindu : International : Russian n-offer to Iran

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Wednesday, Jun 29, 2005

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International

Russian n-offer to Iran

Vladimir Radyuhin

MOSCOW: Russia is keen to build up to six nuclear reactors in Iran in addition to one it has constructed at Bushehr, Russia's nuclear energy chief said.

"We will take part in tenders for the construction of new nuclear power reactors when Iran opens them," Alexander Rumyantsev, head of Russia's Atomic Energy Agency, Rosatom, told the Itar-Tass news agency on Tuesday.

He said Iran planned to build another six nuclear reactors.

The statement came four days after Iran's newly elected President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad reaffirmed Teheran's right to develop nuclear energy.

In his congratulatory message to the new leader, Russia's President Vladimir Putin said Moscow was ready to continue cooperation with Iran in the atomic energy sector "taking into account our international obligations in the area of non-proliferation."

Mr. Putin's warm congratulations to Mr. Ahmadinejad sharply contrasted with Washington's claim that the Iranian election was "neither free nor fair."

Rosatom said today the 1,000-megawatt reactor Russia has almost completed in Bushehr will go into operation next year.

In the next few months Russia is to begin supplying nuclear fuel for the reactor.

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