Russia, Iran close to deal on nuclear cooperation
And we look to Russia as a major source of oil in order to decrease our dependence on the Middle East? They are really catching on to this capitalist thing. Am
Thursday October 24, 1:02 pm ET
MOSCOW, Oct 24 (Reuters) - Russia said on Thursday it had taken a step closer to signing a long-term economic deal with Iran that would ensure continued cooperation with the Islamic republic in the nuclear sector despite U.S. concerns.
Russia plans to build up to six civil nuclear reactors, develop oil and gas deposits, jointly manufacture aircraft and cooperate in communications and the metals industry under the planned 10-year deal.
This would be in addition to Russia's 1990s agreement with Iran to build a nuclear plant at Bushehr on the Gulf coast, a project that has long infuriated Washington.
Iran has repeatedly said that its nuclear cooperation with Russia is for peaceful purposes. But U.S. officials argue there can be no reason for a country with Iran's oil resources to want so many nuclear reactors, implying that the plants could be used to produce weapons-grade nuclear material.
U.S. President George W. Bush earlier this year included Iran with Iraq and North Korea in an "axis of evil" bent on acquiring weapons of mass destruction and backing terrorism.
A Russian government statement quoted on Thursday Deputy Prime-Minister Viktor Khristenko as saying Russia and Iraq planned to resolve differences soon over the long-term deal, with more experts meetings planned this week.
Khristenko, who met on Thursday Iranian oil minister Bijan Zanganeh, said U.S. concerns over nuclear cooperation programme were exaggerated and added Moscow would try hard to explain its position.
"We have to deepen our relations on both (Iranian and U.S.) fronts... The history of our relations with Iran counts more than one day and more than one year," Russian agency Interfax quoted Khristenko as saying.
The statement also said Khristenko and Zanganeh discussed cooperation between non-OPEC Russia, the world's second largest oil exporter after Saudi Arabia, and OPEC-member Iran, but gave no details.
A Russian Energy Ministry official told Reuters Zanganeh also met on Thursday Russian Energy Minister Igor Yusufov.
"The two men discussed market stability and price prospectives as it had happened before during our talks with other OPEC-member officials," he said.
Russia agreed to curb oil supplies by five percent in the first six months of 2002 to help OPEC rein in global output and keep prices firm but kept pumping at capacity and boosted supplies further after the deal expired in July.
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