TEHRAN -- Iran needs more time for talks with Russia on spent nuclear fuel from the nuclear power plant in Bushehr, IRNA quoted spokesman for the Iranian Atomic Energy Organisation Saber Zaeimian as saying on Monday.

Zaeimian said Iran believes it necessary to discuss technical and juridical aspects of this issue. To this end, the experts of the two countries are expected to meet once again, the spokesman said.

He said the sides have not specified the date on signing a protocol on spent nuclear fuel to the existing Russian-Iranian agreement on the construction of the nuclear power plant in Bushehr.

At the same time, he pointed out that the construction of the plant will be continued under the schedule.

Russian Atomic Energy Minister Alexander Rumyantsev told Itar-Tass that Russia and Iran will continue talks on the return of spent nuclear fuel to Russia to be held in Vienna in the middle of September.

In his words, preparations and the signing of the Russian-Iranian protocol is 'a purely technical issue'. Iran believes that it is necessary to sign this document and the sides should 'finalize the procedure', the minister said.

Earlier, the protocol was expected to be signed in the first half of September, but it was necessary to make amendments to the existing contracts.

The minister declined to predict the date of the signing, but he expressed the hope that 'the document will be signed in Moscow shortly'.

According to the Russian Atomic Energy Ministry, 'the signing of the additional protocol on the return of spent nuclear fuel to the inter-governmental agreement on cooperation is an inalienable condition for beginning new fuel supplies to the plant'.

By building nuclear powers plants abroad Russia supplies fuel for them and then takes it for storage and processing in accordance with the rules of nuclear technologies non-proliferation.

The Bushehr nuclear power plant should begin operating in 2005.

One unit amounting to about one billion US dollars of the plant will be effective.