Russia claims Iran is ‘only embarking on the path to peaceful nuclear energy’
Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin announced in Istanbul that Russia has committed to establishing a joint venture to operate Tehran’s first nuclear plant. The Iranian Bushehr nuclear power plant is expected to come online by the end of the summer, after being delayed since 1975 for a variety of political reasons. According to Sergei Kiriyenko, chief of Russia’s nuclear state corporation, Iran is “only embarking on the path to peaceful nuclear energy” and needs Russia’s leadership to successfully implement its nuclear program. “We have agreed that our experts will work as part of this joint company and maintenance of the station will be implemented by the staff of our two countries for the next few years,” he says. Putin maintains that the launch doesn’t violate the new sanctions imposed on Iran by the UN.