Russia's banks are refusing to deal with letters of credit (L/Cs) needed by Iran to pay the Russian company scheduled to commission the Islamic republic's Bushehr nuclear power station.

Difficulties with the L/Cs are the latest in a series of reasons why the company has been prevented from working on the power plant.

Delays and impediments

Earlier this month, the Russian company, Atomstroyexport, said that financial impediments stood in the way of the construction of the first unit of the Bushehr nuclear power station.

Now it seems as though the power plant will not be commissioned in late August as originally scheduled. No new date has been given for the plant's commissioning, which is expected to remain confidential.

L/C difficulties

According to the head of Atomstroyexport, Dan Belenky, the financial impediments centre on L/Cs. "I have to say that there are certain problems because some Russian banks are refusing to offer services with respect to Iran's L/Cs," he told local media.

Belenky said the Iranians were not at all to blame for the Russian banks' refusal to deal with L/Cs and added that Atomstroyexport was looking for alternative financing methods.

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