US secretary of state Hillary Clinton today said that Russia's plan to start up the nuclear reactor at an Iranian power station was "premature" without further assurances on Tehran's nuclear programme.
When asked about the plan to start up the plant, Mrs Clinton said: "Iran is entitled to civil nuclear power; it is a nuclear weapons program that it is not entitled to."
"If it reassures the world, or if its behaviour is changed because of international sanctions, then they can pursue peaceful, civil nuclear power," Mrs Clinton said.
"In the absence of those reassurances, we think it would be premature to go forward with any project at this time because we want to send an unequivocal message to the Iranians," she added.
Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov, speaking alongside Ms Clinton after talks in Moscow, responded by saying the Bushehr plant was key to maintaining the presence of the UN's nuclear agency in Iran.
"Bushehr plays a special role in maintaining the IAEA's presence in Iran, in ensuring that Iran is complying with its non-proliferation obligations," Mr Lavrov said.
As Mrs Clinton and Mr Lavrov held talks in Moscow, Russian prime minister Vladimir Putin announced that Russia would start up the reactor it is building at the Bushehr plant in the summer of 2010.
UN secretary-general Ban Ki-moon, also in Russia for meeting tomorrow of Middle East mediators, urged Russia and the United States to sign the new arms control pact "as soon as possible" during talks with President Dmitry Medvedev.
President Obama has attempted to "reset" relations with Russia after a stormy period under his predecessor George W Bush. But his administration needs results from its initiatives to counter Republican charges he is too soft on Moscow.
Mrs Clinton's 36-hour visit to Russia includes tomorrow's meeting of the Middle East quartet - the European Union, Russia, the United Nations and the United States - and talks with Mr Medvedev and Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on arms control and Iran.
Russian and US teams have been negotiating for nearly a year on a successor to the 1991 Start I treaty cutting arsenals of nuclear weapons by up to a third. Mr Lavrov said on Tuesday that they could have a deal ready for signing by early April.
"We are making very good progress. I can't predict to you exactly when the agreement will be completed but . . . we are getting closer," Undersecretary of State William Burns told reporters as Mrs Clinton flew to Moscow.
Mr Medvedev and Mr Obama pledged last year to cut each nation's deployed nuclear warheads to between 1,500 and 1,675 but trust between the two former Cold War foes remains elusive.
Talks on a new treaty have bogged down in recent months over Russian concerns about US plans for anti-missile systems in eastern Europe and disagreements over how to count and verify warheads.
During talks with Mr Lavrov today, Mr Ban urged the Cold War foes to act fast and sign an agreement before a nuclear disarmament summit Mr Obama is hosting in mid-April. That will be followed by a May conference on nuclear proliferation.
"I expect and sincerely hope that you and US president Obama will sign the Start treaty as soon as possible," Mr Ban told Mr Medvedev, who replied in English: "I hope so."
World powers hope both nuclear meetings will help stem the spread of atomic weapons and rein in the ambitions of nations such as Iran and North Korea.
The United States also hopes to win Moscow's backing for tougher sanctions against Iran over its nuclear programme, which the West suspects is intended to produce atomic weapons. Iran denies this. Mr Medvedev earlier this month promised support for "smart" sanctions against Tehran that are not aimed at civilians.
On Middle East issues, US officials were circumspect about the prospects for renewed Israeli-Palestinian peace talks. The Middle East quartet discussions - a dinner tonight and tomorrow’s formal session - are designed to show international backing for indirect talks between Israel and the Palestinians that the United States announced last week.
However, the launch of negotiations has been marred by a rare, public US-Israeli dispute over Israel's plans to plan to build 1,600 homes for Jews in a part of the occupied West Bank it annexed to Jerusalem.
Mrs Clinton has described the announcement - made while US vice president Joe Biden was in Israel last week - as insulting. She had made a series of demands of Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu on the housing project itself and on showing his commitment to the indirect peace talks that the Israelis and Palestinians agreed to only last week.
A State Department spokesman told reporters that Mr Netanyahu had yet to telephone Mrs Clinton with his response, a step that he said the United States wanted before its peace envoy George Mitchell returns to the Middle East for a trip he has repeatedly put off.
Reuters