Sunday, Aug 24, 2003
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By Vladimir Radyuhin
The first shipment of nuclear fuel for the Russian-built nuclear reactor in Bushehr will be dispatched immediately after an additional protocol is signed shortly with Iran on the return of spent fuel to Russia, the Atomic Energy Ministry said on Friday. The Ministry made the announcement after the Russian Government issued permission today to sign the protocol. The decision puts an end to months of speculation that Moscow could drag its feet on the fuel-return protocol in order to delay the commissioning of the Bushehr plant. The $800-million project is 80 per cent ready, but Washington has put strong pressure on Moscow to freeze nuclear cooperation with Teheran until it signs a U.N. protocol allowing for closer inspection of its suspected weapons programme by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). The Russian President, Vladimir Putin, earlier this summer suggested that the U.S. demand was prompted by a desire to weaken Russia as a competitor in the nuclear technologies market.
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