MOSCOW, 23 October 2003 — Russia yesterday hailed Iran’s pledge to throw open its nuclear program to UN inspections as a “positive step” which should ease pressure on Moscow over its cooperation with the Islamic republic.
“We welcome this decision, this is a positive step,” Nikolai Shingaryev, the top spokesman for the Russian Atomic Energy Ministry, said.
“Russia has come under certain pressure because of Bushehr... this agreement will certainly simplify and make our cooperation easier,” he added, referring to the nuclear power plant which Russia is building for Iran.
On Tuesday, Iran promised the visiting foreign ministers of Britain, France and Germany that it would show “full transparency” to the UN’s nuclear watchdog and allow a tougher inspections regime as well as halt uranium enrichment.
Iran said yesterday the Islamic republic would hand over documents on its past nuclear activities to the UN nuclear watchdog later in the day to allay international suspicions it is building an atomic bomb.
The move would meet a key demand of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), which had given Tehran an Oct. 31 deadline to clear up suspicions about its nuclear ambitions.
Russia is building Iran’s first nuclear plant, Bushehr, in a deal worth about $800 million that has caused tensions with Washington because of US concerns that Tehran may be using Russian technology to develop nuclear weapons.
Speaking in the Kyrgyz capital Bishkek, Atomic Energy Minister Alexander Rumyantsev said that Iran’s agreement to sign an additional protocol with the IAEA on tougher inspections proved the Bushehr contract was beyond reproach.
“If Iran in the near future signs this document, this will remove many of the concerns of various countries about the transparency of Iran’s nuclear program.
“This will give Iran (...) nuclear-powered electricity and Russia will make money from this contract,” he added.
A high-ranking Kremlin source told Interfax the successful European diplomacy fully justified Russia’s insistence on engaging Iran, branded as part of an “axis of evil” by US President George W. Bush.
A top Iranian official said Tuesday that Tehran would sign a deal with Moscow soon promising to return supplies of Russian nuclear fuel used in the plant in southern Iran, opening the way to the completion of the project.
However, the Atomic Energy Ministry spokesman said he could not confirm this.
“I have no information that they’re about to sign. I know that experts are conducting negotiations” but even under the best-case scenario “fuel deliveries to Bushehr will not begin for a month or two,” he said.
Moscow officials earlier claimed that negotiations over the Bushehr plant had broken down over Iran’s demand for Russia to buy back the spent fuel — a highly unusual request since spent fuel in such deals is almost always sent back for free.
Earlier this month Russia said it would push back by one year the launch of Bushehr to 2005, while denying suggestions the delay was forced by pressure from the United States or Israel.
The Vremya Novostei daily said the Iranian concessions to the international community were a relief for Moscow.
“The diplomatic success in Tehran will allow Russia to catch its breath and continue with the construction of the power station in Bushehr,” said the newspaper.
But it also noted that Germany, France and Britain had reportedly promised to supply nuclear technology and fuel to Iran in return, “hardly reassuring for Russia which at this time of tension has enjoyed a quasi-monopoly in the Iranian nuclear market.”
