MOSCOW, June 29 (UPI) -- Russian officials have reached out to Iran's new leadership, saying that Moscow is keen to build more nuclear reactors in the Islamic republic.
"When Iran announces new tenders to construct nuclear reactors, we'll take part in them," Atomic Energy Agency chief Alexander Rumyantsev said Tuesday.
President Vladimir Putin, in a congratulatory letter to Iranian President-elect Mahmoud Ahmadinejad Saturday, stressed that Moscow would continue its nuclear cooperation with Iran, The Moscow Times reported Wednesday.
State-owned AtomStroiExport and other Russian companies are finishing the construction of a 1,000-megawatt nuclear reactor in Bushehr in southern Iran.
The United States and the European Union have expressed concerns that Tehran's nuclear energy program could be a cover for developing nuclear weapons. Reportedly President Bush is considering freezing U.S. assets of any company suspected of helping Iran, North Korea or Syria develop weapons of mass destruction.
Since his election Friday, Ahmadinejad has said Tehran is determined to press ahead with its nuclear program but would continue talks with European Union negotiators.
In The Hague, Netherlands, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov told reporters, "I don't see any reasons why should we alter our cooperation in the use of the peaceful atom."
