Russia: No need to halt construction of nuclear plant in Iran

Alexander Rumyantsev, Russian Minister of Nuclear Energy said Tuesday that Moscow will continue the building of Bushehr nuclear power plant in Iran despite the latest decision by the UN International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), the Interfax News Agency quoted him as saying.  

Rumyantsev, who heads the Russian delegation at the IAEA session, said "Russia sees no basis for halting nuclear cooperation with Iran since it does not violate international laws."  

The Russian official added that his country is still urging Iran to ink the additional protocol to the Nuclear non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) on authorizing unannounced inspections of its nuclear sites.  

"The U.S. has has urged the Russian delegation to halt nuclear cooperation with Iran after the latest IAEA decision, but gave no acceptable reason for their demand," the Russian official conveyed. (Albawaba.com)