MOSCOW. Nov 9 (Interfax-AVN) - The Russian-Iranian protocol under which Iran will return spent nuclear fuel to Russia is nearly drafted and will be signed shortly, Russian Foreign Ministry spokesman Alexander Yakovenko told a news conference in Moscow on Tuesday.
"A protocol on sending spent nuclear fuel back is as good as drafted, with essential issues resolved and commercial details being ironed out," he said.
"We expect the protocol to be signed soon," Yakovenko said.
Russian-Iranian cooperation returning nuclear fuel is transparent, supervised by the IAEA, and consistent with the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty, Yakovenko said.
"Consequently, the signing of the protocol on sending spent nuclear fuel back to Russia does not need to be regarded in the context of Iran's nuclear problem," he said.