"I hope this will be achieved at the beginning of next year," Mr. Khristenko told journalists after a meeting with Iranian Minister of Economic Affairs and Finance Safdar Hosseini.
Mr. Khristenko did not mention the price as, "the cost is now the subject of the talks."
"The final stage of the talks on the first shipment of five airplanes is now under way."
He noted that energy industry issues were also discussed during the meeting.
"In regard to the fuel and energy sector," he said, "expanded efforts to coordinate Iran and Russia's activities in developing Iran's resources and working in third countries were discussed."
He added that Iran and Russia's cooperation in developing the gas sector, their position on the gas market and the electricity sector in third countries had also been considered.
"The discussion was about cooperation in Tajikistan during the construction of the Sangtudin hydroelectric power plant," he said. "This project is promising only for Iran but also for Russia and Tajikistan."
Since the mid-1990s, Russia has been constructing a nuclear power plant in Bushehr. Russia will deliver fuel for the plant and the spent fuel will be shipped back to Russia. An agreement about this is now being prepared for signing.
Despite the fact that the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty allows for the transfer of nuclear technologies for peaceful purposes to non-nuclear states (especially to its signatories, Iran signed the treaty in the mid-1970s), the United States emphatically opposes Russia's nuclear cooperation with Iran, as it believes that the cooperation is a cover for the sharing of sensitive nuclear technologies with Iran, which could help the "radical Islamic regime" develop a nuclear bomb.
