A lawmaker commented that the government should take adequate precautions when it enters into deals with Russia in view of Moscow's poor record in fulfilling its commitments under previous bilateral business contracts.
"All performance guarantees should be obtained when signing contracts with Russia for the construction of the next units of the Bushehr Nuclear Power Plant," Hossein Naqavi Hosseini, a member of the Majlis National Security and Foreign Policy Commission, told ICANA on Tuesday.
Hosseini said the planned deal between Tehran and Moscow should not allow any pause or delay in the implementation of the power plant's second phase.
Though Tehran and Moscow had established a joint venture to operate the Bushehr plant, "Russia left Iran alone with operational control of the reactor on several occasions in the past three years," he said.
Eventually, Russia agreed to take over its part until Iran acquires adequate experience in maintaining the nuclear facility.
The lawmaker hoped that this time the Russians will remain serious about their undertaking, getting no cold feet any more.
"Russia has a notorious history in fulfilling its obligations agreed with Iran, particularly when nuclear deals are concerned. In our agreements with Moscow, we are unfortunately challenged to face various uncertainties and unpredictable shifts," he said.
"While fulfilling its contracts, Russia has always been affected by international political environment, particularly western pressure. This has been confirmed in cases such as the contracts of the S-300 air defense systems and the Bushehr plant."
Hosseini stressed the significance of upstream rules on the implementation of nuclear power plant projects.
"Fortunately, a great deal of research has been conducted on the subject, handing us a number of plans and proposals. I hope such strategic plans of vital importance will become operational in the coming years," he said.
Russia's state atomic energy corporation, Rosatom, will start work on the second unit of the Bushehr power plant by the end of 2016. An investment of $11 billion is estimated for the project.
