Russia will not supply nuclear fuel to the Bushehr nuclear power plant in Iran until Tehran put all nuclear facilities under the control of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and answer all questions the IAEA may ask, a senior Russian official said Friday.
Atomic Energy Minister Alexander Rumyantsev told Itar-Tass that Iran was demonstrating a "high degree of readiness to make its nuclear program transparent."
The minister noted that Iran has expressed the readiness to refrain from any further violations of IAEA rules and regulations of acquiring uranium and to notify the agency of such transactions on time.
The IAEA board of governors believes that Iran will sign the additional protocol on guarantees after consultations in Teheran, Rumyantsev said.
He called for producing the conclusion of an additional protocol with Iran on the return of spent nuclear fuel to Russia so as to prepare for the operation of the Bushehr reactor in 2004.
Russian President Vladimir Putin also confirmed on Friday noon that Iran is ready to accept full-scale control of the IAEA over its nuclear programs.
Putin told a news conference in the Kremlin that he received the assurances from President Mohammad Khatami in a telephone conversation two days ago, who pledged that his country was prepared to sign any protocols required by the IAEA.
Russia would reportedly spend 1 billion US dollars on the construction of the Bushehr project, claiming that the nuclear plant is under the control of the IAEA and has not violated "any international agreements".
However, it kept on urging Iran to sign a protocol placing all nuclear facilities under control of the IAEA.
The United States has been accusing Tehran of developing nuclear weapons with the Bushehr power plant, calling Russia to halt its cooperation with Iran.
(People's Daily June 21, 2003)
