By RIA Novosti
Bucharest : Russia will honour all its contractual commitments to Iran in developing nuclear power for peaceful uses, President Vladimir Putin told a news conference Friday after a NATO-Russia Council session in Bucharest, Romania.
“We have so far honoured in full and will continue honouring contractual commitments to our Iranian partners in developing their nuclear programmes for peaceful purposes,” Putin said.
Russia delivered its eighth and final fuel shipment to Iran Jan 28 for the light-water nuclear power plant in Bushehr. The plant has been the focus of international attention over fears that Iran is secretly developing nuclear weapons. But Tehran has been insisting that it needs nuclear technology to generate electricity.
Putin said these commitments also related to nuclear fuel deliveries in general. “We are ready to keep working in the same manner, observing Iran’s legitimate interests as regards the development of advanced technology and on allaying the international community’s concerns over non-proliferation,” Putin said.
A source in the Russian delegation said that the Russia president had urged NATO countries at the closed session to solve the Iranian nuclear problem without driving Iran into a corner.
“No one can seriously imagine that Iran will attack the US. Instead of driving [Iran] into a corner, another more positive, rather than negative, approach should be found,” the source quoted the outgoing Russian president as saying.