Eurasia Press & News
Secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council (SNSC) Ali Larijani Thursday said Russia has demanded Iran to make payments in advance of the agreed dates. Speaking to reporters after a meeting with Omani Foreign Minister Yusef bin Alavai, Larijani responded to a question about the Iranian delegation dispatched to Moscow to discuss the financial problems pertaining to Bushehr power plant, and said, “I am not informed of the contents of the talks. I just know that Russians want payments to be made before due dates and that the two sides are discussing the point.”
“Yet, money is not the main subject of talks, rather, the two sides are pursuing their general agreements,” he continued.
Larijani reserved judgment on the possible results of the current Iran-Russia talks on Bushehr power plant.
A delegation led by the vice president of Iran’s Atomic Energy Organization (IAEO), Mohammed Sa’eedi, traveled to Moscow in an effort to resolve the payment dispute.
Located in southwestern Iran, Bushehr is the country’s first nuclear power station, but work on the plant has been long delayed by the Russian contractor.
Russia and Iran signed the 1-billion-US-dollar contract for the construction of the plant in 1995. Under an agreement reached last September, fuel deliveries to Bushehr are scheduled to start in March and the plant is due to come on stream in September.
