Russia to finalize deal on Iran new nuclear plant in Bushehr

A deputy head of Russia’s Rosatom State Nuclear Energy Corporation has expressed hope for the finalization of a deal for the construction of a second unit at Iran’s Bushehr nuclear power plant.

In a meeting with Iranian Ambassador to Russia Mehdi Sanaee in Moscow on Friday, Nikolai Spassky said the Bushehr power plant is of great significance for both Iranian and Russian governments and nations.

He reaffirmed Russia’s support for Iran’s nuclear energy program, saying the operation of Bushehr plant is an example of successful cooperation between the two countries.

For his part, the Iranian envoy said President Hassan Rouhani and his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, are determined to upgrade Tehran-Moscow relations “particularly in the peaceful nuclear energy sector.”

On February 6, Spassky said Tehran and Moscow are in the “working stage of discussing the option” of constructing a new unit in Bushehr power plant.

In September 2013, Iran officially took over from Russia the first unit of its first 1,000-megawatt nuclear power plant in Bushehr for two years. The initial construction of the Bushehr facility began in 1975 by German companies, but the work was halted following the 1979 Islamic Revolution.

After signing a deal on the construction of nuclear plants in 1992, Iran and Russia reached an agreement in 1995 to complete the Bushehr plant.

In an interview with Press TV on February 3, head of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI) Ali Akbar Salehi said the Islamic Republic is in talks with Russia for the construction of new nuclear power plants to produce 4,000 megawatts of electricity.