Iranian Envoy Suggests Oil-For-Russian Reactor Deal

Russian President Vladimir Putin (right) shakes hands with Iran's ambassador to Russia, Mehdi Sanaei, during a ceremony to receive foreign ambassadors' credentials in Aleksandrovsky Hall in the Grand Kremlin Palace in Moscow on January 16.

Iran's ambassador to Russia says Tehran would be willing to trade oil for a second Russian-built nuclear power plant.

Ambassador Mehdi Sanaei, speaking to the Russian newspaper "Kommersant," also said Iran was ready to receive trucks, railroad tracks, small oil refineries, or other goods in exchange for oil.

Some reports have said deliveries of hundreds of thousands of barrels of Iranian crude per day were being discussed.

Iranian energy exports are believed to have declined significantly in recent years, hobbling Iran's economy, due to Western sanctions imposed over the Iranian nuclear program.

The ambassador's comments appeared one day before Iran and six world powers are due to resume negotiations on a long-term deal on Iran's nuclear program.

Russia completed construction of Iran's sole nuclear reactor, at Bushehr, in 2011.

Based on reporting by Reuters and AFP