Iran and Russia have kicked off a summit of the countries' joint energy commission with the establishment of a joint oil firm and a gas swap deal topping the agenda.

Russian Energy Minister Sergey Shmatko arrived in Tehran on Sunday to attend the two-day summit.

The summit aims to discuss details of an agreement for swapping gas from Central Asia to the Persian Gulf; the setting up of a joint venture for energy projects in the two countries as well as third-party states; and the joint exploration and development of oil and gas fields.

The agreement was signed between Shmatko and Iranian Oil Minister Gholam-Hossein Nozari on the sidelines of an OPEC summit in March.

Swaps are agreements by which a country can supply goods to another in exchange for the latter giving the equivalent to a third party.

Tehran and Moscow plan to swap up to 50 million cubic meters of Iran's natural gas from the Caspian Sea to the Persian Gulf.

Shmatko is also expected to discuss with Tehran officials the long-delayed Bushehr nuclear plant in the southern Iran.

The Bushehr plant was originally scheduled to be completed in 1999 but its completion has repeatedly been delayed.

Russia has recently announced the nuclear plant would not become operational, as promised, by the end of 2009.

Russia has cited “technical” issues as the reason for the delays, ruling out any political motivation in the matter.

In a meeting with Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki earlier on Sunday, the Russian energy minister said Moscow's policy towards Tehran would not change, saying his country is seeking “long-term relations” with Iran.

AKM/HGH