AFP: Russia’s federal atomic energy agency, Rosatom, on Tuesday said it hoped Teheran would make timely payments for a Russian-built nuclear power plant in the southwestern Iranian town of Bushehr. MOSCOW, April 3, 2007 (AFP) – Russia’s federal atomic energy agency, Rosatom, on Tuesday said it hoped Teheran would make timely payments for a Russian-built nuclear power plant in the southwestern Iranian town of Bushehr.
“It is a good thing that our Iranian colleagues have overcome their difficulties in payments for the Bushehr plant and we hope that in the future Tehran’s payments will come in accordance with the agreed schedule,” head of Rosatom, Sergei Kirienko, told Russian media.
Russia had accused Iran of not paying the amounts agreed upon in a deal reached last September on the construction and nuclear fuel supply to the plant, but at the end of March, Moscow acknowledged that Tehran had relaunched its payments.
“For the first quarter of 2007, Russia received 15 million dollars (11 million euros) from Iran, 10 million of which came at the end of March,” Kirienko said, pointing out that Tehran had previously agreed to pay Russia between 23 and 25 million dollars per month.
The Bushehr contract is worth a total of about one billion dollars.
Kirienko’s comments came after the head of Iran’s atomic energy organisation announced that a Russian delegation would visit Tehran this week to resolve problems holding up the completion of the plant, which has been repeatedly delayed amid mutual accusations of financial difficulties.
Under the September deal, Russia was to deliver nuclear fuel to Iran in March, the power station would begin working in September and it would start producing energy in November.
