Sergey Kirienko, Russian Atomic Agency Chief, is in Tehran now to discuss Iran’s bid for a nuclear programme. Russia has proposed to set up a joint venture to process uranium on Russia’s soil to rule out any military implications.
      
      Iranian delegation visited Russia earlier this February and is now waiting Moscow experts to go on with the talks. Tense negotiations are right ahead of the March 6 IAEA session. If talks fail, the whole issue may be moved to the UN Security Council.
      
      Mr Kirienko is expected to meet members of the local parliament, the finance minister and the economy minister.
      
      “We’ll discuss the nuclear issue. Our delegation will continue to work on a political and diplomatic solution for the situation with Iran’s nuclear programme. We will also discuss our bilateral trade and economic issues. It’s another chance to discuss Iran’s nuclear dossier in IAEA,” said Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov.
      
      It is actually one of the few opportunities left to resolve the stumbling block in a diplomatic way.
      
      On his third day of the visit, Sergey Kirienko is expected to visit the construction site of the Bushehr Nuclear Plant. The contract for the construction, worth $1bn, was signed 11 years ago. The construction began in 1974 by the Germany-based Siemens company but was suspended because of the Islamic revolution.
      
      The launch of the power plant is scheduled for the fourth quarter 2006 but the final deadlines have not been agreed.
      
      Currently, some 3,500 Russian workers are on the site while the fuel for the plant is produced and stored at the Russian TVEL company. Last year saw an agreement between Russia and Iran obliging Iran to return nuclear fuel to Russia to be stored and processed.