Russia "is satisfied with the pace of construction of the Bushehr plant, and is confident that the launch of its first bloc will be completed on time," the prime TASS news agency quoted Atomic Energy Minister Alexander Rumyantsev as saying.
His comments came less than a week before a key summit in Saint Petersburg between Russian President Vladimir Putin and his U.S. counterpart George W. Bush, AFP reported.
U.S. officials earlier said that Russia's cooperation with Iran will be high on the agenda of the June 1 talks.
Russia insists that its nuclear aid to Iran is for purely civilian purposes.
Rumyantsev stressed during a meeting with Iranian Deputy Director for Atomic Energy Organization Asadollah Saburi: "We will continue to fulfill our obligations despite the fact that our views on this do not correspond with those of Washington."
Rumyantsev added Tuesday that Iran's Atomic Energy Organization Chief Gholamreza Aqazadeh would visit Moscow in June.
Publish Date: 27 May 2003 - 21:57
MOSCOW -- Russia said Tuesday it intended to complete the construction of Iran's first nuclear power plant.