- Brushing aside U.S. concerns, the government has indicated
that it plans to continue building new nuclear reactors in Iran like one
that American officials have repeatedly warned could be used to develop
nuclear weapons.
-
- Russia's assistance in building a nuclear plant in the
city of Bushehr, near the Persian Gulf, has been a nagging irritant in
relations with the United States for years. It produced the sourest note
in otherwise friendly meetings between Presidents George W. Bush and Vladimir
Putin here in May.
-
- While administration officials have pressed Russia to
break its contract to complete a 1,000-megawatt reactor at Bushehr, a document
approved last week by Prime Minister Mikhail Kasyanov and announced on
Friday outlined plans to build three more reactors at the site.
-
- The document also indicated that Russia would offer to
build two more reactors at a new nuclear power station at Akhvaz, a city
about 100 kilometers from Iran's border with Iraq.
-
- That appeared to contradict remarks earlier this month
by Nuclear Power Minister Alexander Rumyantsev, who said the cooperation
with Iran in developing its nuclear-power industry would end with the project
at Bushehr.
-
- Russia's plans were released on the government's official
web site on Friday, without public comment, as part of a draft resolution
outlining potential areas of economic, industrial and scientific cooperation
with Iran over the next 10 years.
-
- The 12-page document was worked out by Iranian and Russian
representatives "taking into account the traditionally friendly relations
between the two governments," the resolution says.
-
- It says Slavneft and the National Iranian Drilling Company
will work together to expand oil drilling in Iran, and proposes Russian
help in building pipelines to bring Iranian oil to market, including one
from Iran to India. It also proposes Russian help for Iranian exploration
efforts in the Caspian Sea.
-
- Washington has championed pipeline routes to Western
markets that would skirt the Caspian's biggest players -- Russia and Iran.
Moscow and Tehran, meanwhile, have been in dispute with each other and
the other three Caspian states over how to divide the sea's resources.
-
- Russia and Iran also plan to work together on a global
navigation system that the resolution says would be used for geological
research and monitoring a transport corridor between their countries. Russia
proposes helping Iran launch communications satellites and providing it
with satellite photos for geological research.
-
- The two countries hope to set up a joint venture to produce
Tu-204 and Tu-334 passenger aircraft in Iran.
-
- In Washington, Bush administration officials said Russian
cooperation with Iran's nuclear energy program would be on the agenda this
week when Energy Secretary Spencer Abraham leads a U.S. delegation to Russia
to discuss energy and nuclear proliferation issues.
-
- "Our concerns with regards to Russian cooperation
with Iran on the issue of Bushehr are well known," said Sean McCormack,
a spokesman for the National Security Council. "We have expressed
them in public as well as in private directly to Russian President Putin.
And we will continue to work with Russia on proliferation issues of concern."
-
- Russia, like Iran, has repeatedly dismissed the American
concerns about the project, insisting that it is a purely civilian effort
to develop new energy sources. But the Bush administration fears that the
Iranians will use Russian equipment and expertise to pursue a secret program
to produce nuclear weapons that could threaten Europe and the United States.
-
- In recent months, Russian officials have sought to defuse
the Bush administration's complaints, saying Russia would insist that Iran
return the plutonium produced by the reactor as a byproduct of power generation
to prevent it from being used in weapons.
-
- After their meetings in May, Bush said Putin had assured
him that Russia would press Iran to allow extensive international inspections
of the plant.
-
- Iran has signed the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty and
has previously said it will cooperate fully with the International Atomic
Energy Agency, which oversees the world's civilian nuclear power programs.
-
- After Friday's announcement, the chairman of the State
Duma's committee on foreign affairs, Dmitry Rogozin, said Russia's plans
should not hurt relations with the United States since Moscow shares Washington's
worries.
-
- "Neither Russia nor the United States is interested
in other countries' use of peaceful nuclear technologies for military purposes,"
he was quoted by Interfax as saying.
-
- (NYT, AP) http://www.themoscowtimes.com/stories/2002/07/29/003.html
-
-
- Comment
-
- Alaine Reynard
7-29-2
-
- OK, Gang...do we really think Israel is about to sit
around while Iran acquires nuclear reactors 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6? Or, do
you think Iran might conveniently become the next 'terror state' to fall
in the Bush administration crosshairs after Saddam is deleted? Can we
all spell 'p-r-o-x-y w-a-r-s' ? Can we say, "More US tax dollars
at work to make the world safer for Israel."?
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