Baku, Azerbaijan, June 24
By Temkin Jafarov - Trend:
The head of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI) Ali Akbar Salehi will visit Russia to sign new nuclear contracts.
The Spokesman of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI) Behrouz Kamalvandi told IRNA on June 24 that Salehi will sign contracts with Rosatom State Atomic Energy to build two new nuclear power plants.
Nikolai Spassky, the deputy director general for international affairs at Russia's Rosatom State Atomic Energy Corporation started his two-day visit to Tehran on June 23.
Kamalvandi said that Spassky negotiated the technical and commercial details of building new nuclear reactors with AEOI officials and the terms of final contract would be ready in coming weeks to be sealed during Salehi's visit to Moscow. He didn't specify any date for Salehi's visit to Russia, but said that he would pay a visit in a month or so.
He went on saying that some points are remains unsolved and the terms needs to be evaluated more.
Earlier in March, Rosatom and the AEOI reached an agreement to build at least two more nuclear power plants in the southern Iranian port city of Bushehr.
Russia already constructed Iran's only nuclear power plant, 1000-MW Bushehr, which was inaugurated in May 2011.
Russia's state nuclear firm Rosatom aims to grow its global order book to $100 billion in 2014, up 25 percent year-on-year, by securing new projects in Hungary, Kazakhstan, India and Iran, Reuters quoted Rosatom's CEO Sergei Kiriyenko on June 2.
Tehran and Moscow also have been negotiating about an agreement on an oil-for-goods swap worth $1.5 billion a month. The agreement potentially would enable Iran to boost oil exports by 500,000 barrels per day.
Iran's oil exports (including condensate) had been decreased from 2.5 million barrels per day to 1.07 million from 2011 to the end of 2013 due to sanctions imposed by West to persuade Iran to curb its sensitive nuclear activities.
After an interim nuclear accord achieved in November 2013, Iran's oil exports has increased about 250 to 300 thousand barrels per day due to elimination of some restrictions and eased sanctions, while the oil sanctions remains unchanged.