"During the coming visit to Iran by Alexander Rumyantsev, the head of Russia's Federal Atomic Energy Agency, the issue concerning the construction by Russian experts of the second unit of the Bushehr NPP will be finally solved," Mr. Aghazadeh told journalists on Tuesday.
In his words, "mutual understanding with the Russian side has been achieved, and now the feasibility study is considered."
"The necessary draft on the second unit construction has been prepared," said the Iranian vice president.
Yesterday, Russian Security Council Secretary Igor Ivanov, on a visit to the Iranian capital, said at a meeting with Iranian parliament Chairman Haddad Adel that "the question about Russian companies' participation in the construction of the second unit of the Bushehr NPP is being thoroughly considered at the moment."
At this stage, specialists from Russia are completing the construction of the first light water reactor of a nuclear power plant in the South Iranian city of Bushehr, whose practical launch is scheduled for 2005, and full commissioning, for 2006.
The construction of the nuclear power plant has been carried out since mid-1990s; the price of the question is over $800 million. The Iranian side expressed discontent with repeatedly postponed terms of the NPP commissioning, seeing in it kind of a disguised desire of Moscow to yield to the unending pressure by Washington and give up the contract. Experts believe the point is not in this, but in a chronic underfinancing by the Iranian side of the nuclear power facility being built. However, Moscow partly took into account Washington's concern, insisting on the return of spent nuclear fuel to Russia (it is expected that Alexander Rumyantsev will sign a relevant agreement in Tehran).
