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Iran ready to hold nuclear talks in Turkey

Posted on: Mon November 08, 2010

TEHRAN: Iran said on Sunday it was ready to hold talks in Turkey with the six world powers on its nuclear programme following a one-year break, turning to a neighbour seen as an ally.     

The European Union s foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton, representing the world powers in the negotiations, said she was awaiting official word from Tehran on a specific time and venue.     

A response would follow after consultations with the major powers, her office said in Brussels.     

Ashton proposed last month to hold the talks in Vienna headquarters of the UN nuclear watchdog, the International Atomic Energy Agency starting from November 15.     

 In the last two or three days, we informed our Turkish friends that we agree to hold negotiations in Turkey, Iran s Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki told reporters in Tehran.     

Iran s nuclear negotiator Saeed Jalili informed Ashton in October that his country was prepared to resume nuclear talks after November 10 at a time and place agreed by both sides.     

Turkey gave its approval in principle on Sunday to host the talks, the Turkish news agency Anatolia reported.     

 Turkey has made lots of efforts since the start of the process for a diplomatic solution to be found, a diplomatic source said, quoted by Anatolia. We are ready to do whatever is in our power.     

On Sunday, an Iranian conservative newspaper, Vatan Emrouz, without quoting a source, reported that the negotiations would be held by the end of November in Turkey.     

The nuclear talks between Iran and the six world powers Britain, China, France, Russia, Germany and the United States have been deadlocked since October 2009 when the two sides met in Geneva.     

The world powers led by the United States suspect that Iran is masking a weapons drive under the guise of a civilian nuclear programme, a charge Tehran strongly denies.     

Mottaki said the Islamic republic was very optimistic about the next round of talks.     

 I hope we will reach an agreement soon over the date and the contents, he said. We are very optimistic the discussions will start as soon as possible, as the overall approach of Iran is positive and constructive.

Iran has always insisted the talks be held on its package of proposals given to world powers before the October 2009 round of talks. That package talks of overall global nuclear disarmament.     

But world powers insist the talks focus on Iran s nuclear programme.     

The deadlock with world powers has already led to fresh UN and EU sanctions against Iran, which were followed by several other unilateral punitive measures by other nations, including the United States.     

Western media reports say Washington plans to offer Iran tough proposals during the negotiations following Tehran s refusal to abandon the uranium enrichment programme, the most controversial part of its nuclear drive. Enriched uranium can be used to power nuclear plants as well as to make the fissile core of an atom bomb.     

French daily Le Monde reported on Thursday the United States was mulling to offer to transfer 2,000 kilogrammes of Tehran s low-enriched uranium (LEU) to Russia for the Islamic republic s Bushehr nuclear power plant, built by Moscow.

The US proposal also calls for the transfer of another 1,200 kilogrammes of Tehran s LEU to Russia and France, as offered in October 2009 for the Tehran Research Reactor, a facility making medical isotopes, according to Le Monde.     

The report adds Washington plans to propose shifting the 30 kilogrammes of 20-per cent enriched uranium that Tehran currently has produced and intends to convert into fuel for the Tehran reactor if world powers fail to deliver. But Mottaki said last Wednesday that any swap of nuclear fuel must be based on an agreement it signed with Brazil and Turkey in May.

On Sunday, Mottaki also dismissed US Republican Senator Lindsey Graham s remark that Washington was facing a possible war with Iran.

Courtesy : The News