Russia to Delay Iranian Reactor Deliveries over Unpaid Bills

The Iranians with a Bomb is an idea that has scared the bejesus out of a great many people. Anything that provides the mullahs with even a smattering of fission is a looming disaster. The Russians have been demonized in the West for helping Iran build a nuclear power plant. That problem has been temporarily removed from the board. The Iranians have too many unpaid bills for the Russians to delvier fuel as scheduled, and UN sanctions have also helped.

Spokeswoman Irina Yesipova of Atomstroiexport, the Russian state company in charge of the Bushehr nuclear plant work, told the media, “In January, we received less than 25 percent [of what is due]. In February we have not received anything yet from Iran. This could most likely affect the construction schedule given the level of tension around the payment issue.”

The timetable for the plant had fuel deliveries scheduled for March, and it would then start up in September. Now, it looks like the fuel isn’t coming until the bills get paid, and then, an entirely new schedule needs to be established to get the plant going. Some of the difficulty stems from Iran switching from the US dollars to euros in its international finances. Turns out, they needed time to get hold of the euro in sufficient quantities.

In addition, Ms. Yesipova said, “Because of the embargo a number of third countries declined to supply equipment [to Iran]. That’s why Russian producers have to provide all the equipment all of a sudden. It’s a tough situation.” And it’s especially tough when the Russian producers have other calls on their equipment by paying customers.

Atomstroiyexport’s Vladimir Pavlov said in an interview with RIA Novosti, “We are very concerned about this, and are waiting for proposals from the Iranian side.” This means negotiation over the penalties for late payments and such need to be discussed, and that will take time. An interesting way to prevent proliferation, make the customer pay up.

© Copyright 2007 by The Kensington Review, Jeff Myhre, PhD, Editor. No part of this publication may be reproduced without written consent. Produced using Fedora Linux.

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