Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin has been briefed on latest developments in Iran's first nuclear power plant due to be fueled with uranium on Saturday.


Sergei Kiriyenko, Russia's nuclear chief, described the startup of Iran's first major reactor in the southern port of Bushehr as a "landmark event" in his meeting with Putin on Thursday.

"I congratulate you on that," Putin reportedly told Kiriyenko.

"I report to you that we and our Iranian partners have maintained our schedule. This Saturday, August 21, we are beginning the physical launch of the station. It will be done under the eyes of IAEA inspectors," said Kiriyenko.

Iran says Moscow's fulfillment of its commitment to complete the Bushehr nuclear power plant has made Russia a favored contractor for future nuclear projects in the Islamic Republic.

"Considering Russia's expertise… in constructing the Bushehr nuclear plant, the country will be given priority for future nuclear cooperation with Iran," said Tehran's Ambassador to Russia Seyyed Mahmoudreza Sajjadi, quoted by Mehr news agency on Wednesday.

The Iranian envoy stated that the launch of the nuclear plant will open a new chapter in relations between the two countries.

Western corporations began the construction of the Bushehr nuclear facility in the 1970s in close collaboration with the former Iranian dictator Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi. However, following the 1979 Islamic Revolution in Iran that overthrew the Shah, the Western firms reneged on their commitments and abandoned the project without ever compensating the Iranian government for the incomplete work.

Iran then turned to Russia to complete the project. In 1992, the two countries signed a deal to complete the construction of the Bushehr nuclear power plant.

The Bushehr plant was originally scheduled to be completed by 1999. However, the work has repeatedly been delayed for numerous reasons, including major pressures on the Russian government by the US, Israel and their European allies.

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