Vladimir Putin travels to Tehran October 16, 2007 to attend the Caspian Sea Summit and is expected to publicly sign a nuclear agreement with the nation of Iran. Russia has been involved in building a nuclear reactor in Bushehr, Iran that was scheduled to be fueled and commissioned by September of 2007.

Russian president Putin will be the first Russian President to visit the Iranian capital. He anticipates that his attendance at the Caspian Sea Summit will bolster Russian sentiment in the Arab world as he presents them with an ally in their nuclear endeavors. Russian nuclear technology and engineers have been working toward the completion of the Bushehr nuclear facility for the past decade.

Originally the Bushehr nuclear facility was contracted to be completed and commissioned by the year 2000. Moscow and Tehran have renegotiated the contract five times, and the current contract projects the facility completed and fueled by March of 2007, and commissioned in September of 2007. Moscow has yet to fulfill their current obligations to Tehran. The arrival of President Putin will signal the Russian’s intentions of completing the project and delivering 90 tons of nuclear material for fueling the nuclear reactor.

Reza Aghazadeh, head of Iran’s Atomic Energy Organization, confirmed that he expects President Putin to sign a nuclear agreement with Iran to finish the long-overdue Bushehr nuclear facility.

As the United Nations and the United States are imposing sanctions on the nation of Iran for pursuing nuclear technology, Russia is supporting the Iranian vision of becoming a nuclear power in the Middle East. The completion of the Bushehr reactor will enable the Iranians to produce weapons grade nuclear material.