Three days of talks aimed at resolving a funding dispute over the Russian-built Bushehr nuclear plant in Iran ended in failure Friday, signaling yet another delay in the start-up of Iran's first atomic power plant and potentially new tension between Tehran and Moscow.
With the UN nuclear watchdog agency imposing new punitive measures against Tehran, analysts said that Russia's tough stance shows Moscow's readiness to dump support for its ally and trading partner and join the United States and other Western nations in drafting new, tougher sanctions over Iran's uranium enrichment effort.
Russia has blamed Iran for paying only a fraction of the required monthly payments of US$25 million (€19 million) for construction work at Bushehr in recent months, and warned that the payment delays would push back both the reactor's launch and the uranium fuel deliveries. |