Azerbaijan has halted a shipment en route to Iran loaded with Russian nuclear equipment to be used for Iran's Bushehr power plant.

According to the Russian state-run company Atomstroiexport, the trucks carrying the Russian equipment for Iran were halted two weeks ago at the Azerbaijani-Iranian border, AP reported.

Talks are underway with Azeri and Iranian officials on the issue, said company's spokeswoman Irina Yesipova Monday.

"This situation is unlikely to seriously affect the commissioning schedule, although a slight risk still persists," she said.

Azerbaijan is trying to obtain information on the cargo, Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry spokesman Khazar Ibragim said.

Azerbaijan's State Customs Committee claimed Monday that the trucks were stopped since they lacked the special documents required by the Azerbaijan Government.

The committee said it has already informed Russia of the impossibility of any shipment to Iran without the permission of the Azeri cabinet. The cargo was confiscated at the Astara border point.

There was no immediate comment from Iranian officials.

Russia's state-run Atomstroiexport Corporation is building Iran's first nuclear power plant in the southern Iranian city of Bushehr.

MK/RE