Russia's Nuclear Chief Due In Tehran Mid-October

[december]

12/ 09/ 2007

http://img.rian.ru/images/5677/12/56771293.jpg

MOSCOW, September 12 (RIA Novosti) - Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki and the head of Russia's nuclear power agency Rosatom, Sergei Kiriyenko, are expected to meet in October in Tehran.

Iran will hold October 16 a summit of presidents of Caspian littoral states with Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Iran, Russia, and Turkmenistan taking part.

"I invite you in 35 days for a meeting in Tehran," Mottaki said after talks with Kiriyenko in Moscow as part of the Iran-Russia Joint Economic Commission.

The parties discussed a series of trade and economic cooperation issues between the two countries, including the construction of the Bushehr nuclear power plant in Iran.

http://en.rian.ru/russia/20070912/78405905.html

[december]

Russian delegate denies Iran's claim over nuclear fuel

16/ 09/ 2007


VIENNA, September 15 (RIA Novosti) - A Vienna-based Russian diplomat involved in nuclear negotiations denied on Sunday Iran's claim that Russian nuclear fuel was ready to be sent to Iran's Bushehr nuclear power plant.

Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki said on Saturday that fuel for the plant, being built by Russia's Atomstroyexport in south Iran, was "ready, with the security seal of the International Atomic Energy Agency [IAEA]."

However the Russian delegate in Vienna, where the United Nations nuclear watchdog is based, said: "Fuel for the Bushehr NPP has been prepared, and has been stored for several years in the Novosibirsk Chemical Concentrate Plant [in Siberia], but the process of sealing by international experts, which is an important step for preparing it for transport to the Bushehr NPP site, has not yet taken place."

Russian nuclear equipment export monopoly Atomstroyexport has been building Iran's first nuclear power plant despite opposition from Western countries, amid international concerns that the Islamic Republic is pursuing a covert nuclear weapons program.

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http://en.rian.ru/russia/20070916/78951343.html

[synergy777]

France's Kouchner visits Russia after Iran 'war' warning

MOSCOW, Sept 17 (AFP) Sep 17, 2007
http://www.spacewar.com/2006/070917173118.7w118oam.html


French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner arrived Monday in Russia for talks after causing a storm by asking the world to brace for a possible war with Iran over its nuclear programme.

Kouchner was due to hold talks with his counterpart Sergei Lavrov on Tuesday.

The visit comes a day after Kouchner stepped up the ante against Iran, saying: "We have to prepare for the worst, and the worst is war," in a television interview.

French President Nicolas Sarkozy has himself bluntly warned that Iran risks being bombed if the nuclear crisis is not resolved.

Russia, meanwhile, is building an atomic power plant in the southern Iranian city of Bushehr.

The issue of new UN Security Council resolutions reinforcing sanctions on Iran to force Tehran to stop uranium enrichment will figure in the talks between the two foreign ministers.

Tehran vehemently denies US accusations it is seeking an atomic weapon, saying its nuclear drive is aimed at providing electricity for a growing population whose fossil fuels will one day run out.

The United States meanwhile has never ruled out using military strikes to punish Iran for its defiance and US Defense Secretary Robert Gates said on Sunday that "all options are on the table."

Iran has said it will never initiate any attack but will respond with crushing force if the United States launches a strike on its territory.