Ankara’s envoy to Tehran says the world’s major powers should explain the reason for their objection to Turkey hosting the multifaceted talks between Iran the P5+1.
On October 14, EU Foreign Affairs Chief Catherine Ashton proposed three-day talks to be held in mid-November in the Austrian capital of Vienna, expressing hope that Tehran would “respond positively” to the offer.
Iran’s proposed date and venue for talks with the P5+1 — Britain, China, France, Russia and the US plus Germany — were announced last week in a letter sent by Secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council (SNSC) Saeed Jalili to his counterpart Catherine Ashton.
Ashton accepted Iran’s proposed date for talks, but suggested Vienna or Switzerland as the venue for the first meeting.
“P5+1 officials should answer why they have objected to Istanbul hosting negotiations between Iran and the P5+1,” Umit Yardim told IRNA on Sunday.
“Of course where negotiations are held is not important, the key point is conducting the talks,” Yardim added.
“Turkey supports finding a peaceful solution to Iran’s nuclear issue,” the Turkish envoy concluded.
Iran has announced that it will negotiate the issue of a nuclear fuel swap with the Vienna group — France, Russia, the US, and the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) — within the framework of the Tehran declaration, and that its multifaceted talks with the P5+1 will not include the nuclear issue.
Iran signed a declaration with Turkey and Brazil on May 17 based on which Tehran agreed to exchange 1,200 kg of its low-enriched uranium on Turkish soil with nuclear fuel.
The US and its allies, however, snubbed the declaration and used their influence on the UN Security Council to press for fresh sanctions against the Islamic Republic over the allegation that Tehran might pursue a military nuclear program.
Iranian officials refute US allegations and stress that Tehran has always been interested in the peaceful applications of nuclear energy.
MYA/HGH/MMN
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