Iran Loan Not for Military Purposes: Russian Official
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – A senior Russian official said Moscow’s key state loan to Tehran intends to boost civilian projects in the Islamic Republic, stressing that it is not for military purposes.
"The credit we gave out (to Iran) was not for weapons but for various civilian projects," Sputnik quoted Sergei Chemezov as saying on Friday.
He added that part of the loan will be used for construction of a thermoelectric power plant in Iran by Russia's engineering company Technopromexport.
Chemezov went on to say that Iranian energy companies will also receive funding for building grids under the loan agreement.
Preliminary agreements on granting Iran the $5-billion loan were signed during Russian President Vladimir Putin’s visit to Tehran at the end of November 2015.
Officials in Moscow had earlier said that the loan will be used for infrastructure projects, most likely electrical power generation and the development of railways.
The measure is expected to boost trade between the two countries. The target is $10 billion, from the current $1.6 billion.
