Iran is ready to hold talks with the major powers concerned about its nuclear program “as soon as possible” and Turkey may be the best venue for negotiations, its foreign minister said on Sunday.
It was the strongest signal yet of Iranian interest in reviving talks that stalled a year ago, leading to tighter international sanctions against Iran over its refusal to curb its nuclear work and make it more accessible to U.N. inspections.
“We have told our Turkish friends that we are in agreement with regard to holding these talks in Turkey,” Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki told a news conference.
Many countries are concerned that Iran is developing a nuclear industry in order to be able to produce nuclear weapons, something the Islamic Republic denies, saying it only seeks nuclear energy and other peaceful applications.
The eight-year-old stand-off has the potential to ignite a regional arms race and degenerate into a wider Middle East conflict. Israel and its main ally, the United States, do not rule out a pre-emptive strike to stop Iran, which rejects the Jewish state’s existence, from getting the bomb.
The “P5+1” powers — the United States, Russia, China, France and Britain, all permanent members of the U.N. Security Council, plus Germany– have offered talks on November 15-17 in Vienna, an approach welcomed by Iran but not formally agreed to.
Iran has sent mixed signals over a resumption of talks.
President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has dismissed the sanctions as no more effective than a “used handkerchief.”
He has demanded the six powers state whether they come to the table as Iran’s friend or foe, and that they express their opinion of Israel’s alleged nuclear arsenal — topics Western diplomats have said are irrelevant to the main issue in talks.
A senior Ahmadinejad aide said that even if Iran does agree to the talks it will not negotiate about its nuclear program — which would be a non-starter for the powers [ID:nLDE69U035].
But Mottaki was upbeat. “Consultations are under way, they are on the right track,” he said.
“We are hopeful that the time and the agenda and content of the talks will soon be agreed upon by both parties and that both parties will start the talks as soon as possible.”
TURKEY READY
The Turkish foreign ministry said Mottaki had been in touch to suggest holding talks there. “We said to Iranian officials that as Turkey we are ready to do our best in that regard. But there is no decision yet regarding the exact timing and place of the talks,” an official said.
A spokesman for Catherine Ashton, the European Union’s foreign policy chief, said she was aware of Mottaki’s comments, “but we have not yet received an official proposal from Iran in this regard.
Reuters