New Delhi, Dec 21 (IANS) India and Russia Tuesday discussed setting up more nuclear reactors in Tamil Nadu, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said.

The two countries discussed setting up ‘additional nuclear reactors’ in Kudankulam in Tamil Nadu, Manmohan Singh said at a joint press conference with visiting President Dmitry Medvedev.

‘This reflects our mutual desire for strong cooperation in the field of defence and (civil) nuclear energy,’ Manmohan Singh said.

Atomstroyexport, a subsidiary of the state-owned nuclear company Rosatom, is building two 1,000 MW reactors in Kudankulam in collaboration with the Nuclear Power Corporation of India Limited (NPCIL), and is in negotiations to build more.

The first of the original reactors is undergoing final safety tests and is likely to start operations early next year after numerous delays to the original schedule. Construction work is mostly complete for the second reactor as well, which is likely to become critical within two years.