MOSCOW - Work on Iran's Bushehr atomic energy plant will be delayed
further unless Tehran resolves a dispute over payment to the Russian contractors building the plant, a Russian official said on Friday.

"A further dragging out of these questions will further worsen the existing delays to the timetable for building the (power station)," said the Russian nuclear official, who did not want to be identified.

	Advertisement

Talks between Russia and Iran ended on Friday with no agreement on a payment dispute that is delaying construction of Iran's Bushehr nuclear power station, a Russian nuclear source told Reuters.

The United States has been pushing Russia to stop building the Bushehr plant in southwest Iran because it suspects Tehran will use the atomic know-how to make nuclear weapons.

The Russian contractor building the plant said Iran owed about $50 million in missed payments and construction would be delayed as a result. Russia had been due to deliver the first nuclear fuel this month.

"Right now [Russian state-owned] Atomstroiexport had a little bit of financial problems and Iran is ready to remove and eliminate all the problems for the Russian side," said Mohammad Saeedi, deputy head of Iran's nuclear energy organization.

"We are ready to charge additional money to Atomstroiexport to build the nuclear power plant according to the schedule," said Saeedi, speaking on Russia's Vesti-24 news channel.

Moscow and Tehran say the plant is to generate electricity only and complies with international nuclear safeguards.

Some analysts say Russia is deliberately dragging its feet over Bushehr because it is wary of the international criticism likely to follow if it delivers the fuel to Bushehr.

Iran has denied missing payments for the plant. Saeedi is heading an Iranian delegation holding a third day of talks in Moscow with Atomstroiexport. There was no immediate Russian response to the Iranian offer of more cash.

An Atomstroiexport spokeswoman said earlier talks over the first two days were held in a "business-like atmosphere" but failed to produce an agreement.