#14 - RW 273
Russia, Iran Face Disagreements Over Nuclear Program
September 11, 2003
Sergei Blagov
Correspondent

Moscow (CNSNews.com) - As the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) in Vienna debated a U.S.-backed resolution that would find Iran in non-compliance of the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty, disagreements surfaced between Tehran and its main supplier on nuclear technology, Russia.

To address international concerns that Iran may develop nuclear weapons, Russia has said it would freeze construction on the $1 billion Bushehr 1,000-megawatt light-water nuclear reactor plant and would not begin delivering fuel for the reactor until Iran agreed to return all spent fuel to Russia.

During recent weeks, both sides have said that an agreement was close to being signed in September. However, Russian and Iranian experts met in Moscow on Sept. 5 but failed to clinch a deal.

On Sept. 8, Russia's atomic energy minister, Alexander Rumyantsev, was quoted by the ITAR-TASS news agency as saying that Russia and Iran were soon likely to resolve "purely technical" differences over the key agreement.

However, those differences were not all about technicalities. On Sept. 10, Tehran reportedly made a new demand that could disrupt Russian-Iranian cooperation on the Bushehr plant, according to Russia's Atomic Energy Ministry.

Deputy Nuclear Energy Minister Valery Govorukhin was quoted by ITAR-TASS as saying that Iran demanded Russia pay for the spent fuel. Normally, suppliers of the fuel are paid for receiving and storing spent fuel, he said, indicating that the demand was unacceptable.

Govorukhin insisted that the dispute was commercial and said both sides had agreed to start talks, ITAR-TASS reported. Should Iran refuse to withdraw its demand, Russia would have to charge that country a higher price to include the cost of buying back the spent fuel, he said.

Iran maintains that its nuclear program is designed solely for generating electricity, but it has avoided signing an additional protocol to the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty that would allow for comprehensive IAEA inspections of its nuclear facilities without notice.

The draft resolution - put forward by the United States, Britain, France and Germany - gives Iran until the end of October to prove that it is not pursuing a nuclear weapons program. If Iran fails to meet the deadline, the IAEA would refer the issue to the Security Council, which would vote on whether to slap sanctions on Tehran.

Despite disagreements over Bushehr, Moscow still sounds diplomatic when discussing the Iranian nuclear program. All issues regarding the project should be solved through cooperation between Iran and the IAEA, Russia Foreign Ministry spokesman Alexander Yakovenko stated on Sept. 10.

Russia has long been under heavy criticism from the West for its help in building the Bushehr nuclear plant on Iran's Gulf coast. The U.S. insisted that the Russian technology could be used to develop nuclear weapons, but Moscow and Tehran have argued that the plant can be used only for civilian purposes and will remain under international control.

Moscow has also brushed off repeated U.S. demands that it cancel the Bushehr project. The Kremlin has repeatedly argued it abides by international agreements banning the proliferation of nuclear technologies.

Until recently, Russia insisted it would not halt construction of the Bushehr plant unless the IAEA finds solid evidence that Iran is pursuing a nuclear weapons program.

Russian deliveries of uranium to Bushehr could have begun by next year if Iran had signed a formal agreement to return all spent nuclear fuel to Russia for reprocessing and storage. The plant was expected to open in 2005 and not in 2004, as earlier planned.

Meanwhile, Moscow has urged Tehran to sign an additional protocol to the nonproliferation treaty that would open the door to tougher inspections of its nuclear program by the IAEA.

Tehran has reportedly stated that it would sign such an addition only if sanctions against Iran were lifted. That nation did sign the nonproliferation treaty but is only obliged to admit inspectors to nuclear sites it has declared to the IAEA.

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