"The launch of the first unit of Iran's nuclear power station should be implemented already this summer," Putin was quoted as saying at a meeting on nuclear industry matters in the city of Volgodonsk in southern Russia.

Russia has been helping Iran build the plant in the southern city of Bushehr since the mid-90s but its launch has been marred by a series of delays and setbacks.

Putin's comment represents one of the clearest recent statements by a Russian official about when the controversial facility will finally come online, at a time when Tehran is accused by the West of planning to build a nuclar bomb.

All rights reserved. © 2005 Agence France-Presse. Sections of the information displayed on this page (dispatches, photographs, logos) are protected by intellectual property rights owned by Agence France-Presse. As a consequence, you may not copy, reproduce, modify, transmit, publish, display or in any way commercially exploit any of the content of this section without the prior written consent of Agence France-Presse.