MOSCOW (AP) --- Russia and Cuba plan a new round of talks next month on the possibility of completing a partially built nuclear reactor on the island nation, a news report said Monday.

Construction of two Soviet-designed, light-water reactors began in the early 1980s. Financial problems in both Cuba and the Soviet Union eventually stalled the project.

"We hope the talks will lead to a positive decision this time,'' said Alexander Nechayev, a member of the Russian agency that builds nuclear power stations abroad.

Nechayev said it would take up to two years to conduct negotiations and another two or three years to finish building the plant in Juragua, 190 miles southeast of Havana, the ITAR-Tass news agency reported.

However, Cuba remains hard-pressed for cash and the plant would cost about $650 million to $700 million to complete, the report said.

In addition, the United States opposes the station and considers it a safety risk to Florida and other states along the Gulf of Mexico.

Light-water reactors are considered safer than the graphite-cooled model that was in use in Chernobyl, Ukraine, site of the world's worst nuclear accident. But critics say the Soviet-designed light-water reactors still do not meet the safety standards of Western nations.

© 1998 Associated Press