Envoy: Russia ready to fund IAEA in inspection of Iran's nuclear facilities

Russia's permanent representative in the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Vladimir Voronkov voiced Moscow's readiness to assist IAEA experts during their inspection of Iran's nuclear sites, including funding their operations. Voronkov said on Tuesday that Russia is ready to financially support the IAEA activities in inspecting Iran's nuclear centers within the framework of the Geneva agreement recently clinched between Iran and the six major world powers. Russian media quoted Director-General of the IAEA Yukiya Amano had already declared that the agency needs $5.5mln extra budget for inspections of Iran's nuclear centers. On Saturday, Amano said Iran and the UN nuclear watchdog would have a new round of talks on February 8 after the recent progress in their negotiations. "We started with measures that are practical and easy to implement, and then we move on to more difficult things," Amano said. He further added that the next round of talks between Iran and the IAEA is scheduled to be held on February 8. Early in November, Amano and Head of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI) Ali Akbar Salehi signed a joint statement in Tehran which presented a roadmap for future cooperation to resolve the remaining issues between the two sides. According to the statement, the IAEA and Iran agreed to strengthen their cooperation and dialogue aimed at ensuring the exclusively peaceful nature of Iran's nuclear program through the resolution of all outstanding issues that have not already been resolved by the IAEA. "The IAEA agreed to continue to take into account Iran's security concerns, including through the use of managed access and the protection of confidential information," the statement said. According to the statement, it was agreed that Iran and the IAEA will cooperate further with respect to verification activities to be undertaken by the IAEA to resolve all present and past issues. It is foreseen that Iran's cooperation will include providing the IAEA with timely information about its nuclear facilities and in regard to the implementation of transparency measures. Activities will proceed in a step-by-step manner. "As a first step, Iran and the IAEA agreed to the practical measures listed in the attached Annex. Iran will provide the access and information within three months from the date of the statement (today). The IAEA will report to the Board of Governors on progress in the implementation of these measures," it said.