US Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton urged Russia to delay the launch, but Russia’s foreign minister responded that Moscow would put the reactor online.
“The first reactor at Iran’s nuclear power plant in Bushehr is to be launched already in the summer,” Putin said. He didn’t mention an exact launch date or add any other details during his meeting with nuclear officials in the southern city of Volgodonsk.
Russia signed a $1 billion contract in 1995 for building the Bushehr plant, but it has dragged its feet on completing the project for years.
Clinton on a visit to Moscow on Thursday warned Russia against launching the plant until Tehran proves that it’s not pursuing atomic weapons. “If it reassures the world, or if its behavior is changed because of international sanctions, then they can pursue peaceful, civil nuclear power,” Clinton said when asked about Russian intention to launch Bushehr.
“In the absence of those reassurances, we think it would be premature to go forward with any project at this time, because we want to send an unequivocal message to the Iranians,” she said at a briefing following her talks with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov.
Lavrov immediately responded that Russia still intends to launch the plant. “The project will be completed, and now we have entered a final phase of technological preparations,” he said, adding that the plant has been closely supervised by the International Atomic Energy Agency.
Lavrov said that the Bushehr project is essential for persuading Iran to cooperate with the IAEA and fulfill its obligations under international nuclear nonproliferation agreements.
