Russia is committed to launching Iran's Bushehr nuclear power station on schedule this year, a senior Russian official said yesterday according to the state news agency RIA-Novosti.

"Russia will strictly observe its obligations to finish the Bushehr project on schedule," RIA-Novosti reported Security Council head Igor Ivanov as saying during talks with Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki in Teheran.

Last year, Russia agreed to ship fuel to Bushehr by March 2007 and launch the facility in September, with electricity generation to start by November.

Fuel from the plant potentially could be diverted and used to produce bombs, although Iran has promised to return to Russia the fuel it delivers for the Islamic Republic's first nuclear power station.

China Daily/Agencies