kayhan.ir

News ID: 82472
Publish Date : 05 September 2020 - 22:17

Russia, Iran Take Stock of Nuclear Cooperation


MOSCOW (Dispatches) -- Iran’s ambassador to Russia and deputy head of Russian nuclear energy company Rosatom have discussed ways of forging closer nuclear cooperation between the two countries.
Kazem Jalali and Rosatom Deputy Director General for International Relations Nikolay Spassky stressed the need to promote peaceful nuclear industry cooperation between the two allies.
They also called for continued meetings and cooperation against the United States’ irresponsible pressures on the Islamic Republic and its efforts to wreck an international nuclear deal with Iran.
In February, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov said Tehran and Moscow continue consultations on nuclear cooperation.
 Russia and Iran signed a number of documents in November 2014, expanding cooperation in the field of peaceful use of atomic energy and opening the possibility of construction in Iran of up to eight power units.
The contract for construction of the second line of Bushehr nuclear power plant consists of two units of Russian design with a total capacity of 2,100 megawatts.  
Russia is one of the signatories to the 2015 landmark nuclear accord between Iran and the world powers. The other parties to the contract are Britain, France, China, and Germany.  
The U.S. was also a party to the deal until 2018, when President Donald Trump abandoned, launching a "maximum pressure” campaign with the aim of derailing Iran’s nuclear energy expansion.
Iran’s first nuclear power plant built in Bushehr started operating in 2011 and reached its full capacity the following year.
In May, Iran said it would probably cut its dependence on Russian engineers and become self-sufficient in the maintenance of its Bushehr nuclear power plant by 2022.
Behrouz Kamalvandi, the spokesman for the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI), said the majority of maintenance work in Bushehr nuclear power plant is being carried out by Iranian experts.
"We may cut our dependence on Russian experts in this field within two years,” Kamalvandi said.