By IANS
Tehran : The fuel for Iran’s nuclear power plant in the southern port city of Bushehr is ready for delivery by Russia but is sealed by the UN nuclear watchdog International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki has said.
Mottaki told reporters here Saturday that he had discussed Bushehr with Russian officials during his visit to Moscow Sep 12 and that the talks were “going ahead” in a positive direction.
Referring to a recent telephone contact between Iranian and Russian presidents, the foreign minister hoped the issue would be settled soon.
By an agreement signed in September 2006, Russian firm Atomstroiexport was to supply fuel to the plant built with Russian technology in March this year and the plant was envisioned to generate energy from November.
The Iranian leader said during his Sep 12 talks with Atomstroiexport chief Sergey Shamtko, both had agreed to continue their talks in mid-October.
Progress on the Bushehr power plant, that was originally scheduled to be commissioned in the first half of the decade, has been halted several times over various problems. Earlier this year the Russian firm stopped working on the project citing financial disputes which Iran said it had resolved.
Experts say the completion of project could be postponed till 2008.