Ahmadinejad: Iran to attend new nuclear talks in Turkey

After previous talks with world powers ended with no progress, Iranian president says "I hope this important issue will reach its final result."

By REUTERS
Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad 311 (R) (photo credit: REUTERS/Morteza Nikoubazl)
Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad 311 (R)
(photo credit: REUTERS/Morteza Nikoubazl)
ISTANBUL - Iran will hold the next round of nuclear talks with major powers in Istanbul, President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said on Monday.
"I hope that this important issue (nuclear) will reach its final result in the (next) Istanbul talks," Ahmadinejad told a news conference in Istanbul, broadcast live on Iranian state television.
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After talks with his European Union counterpart in Geneva in February, Iranian Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi said he hoped there would be further meetings, but no date was set.
Iran's last nuclear talks with six world powers in January ended without progress, in part because of Iran's refusal to consider any limits on its disputed uranium enrichment program in exchange for various trade and diplomatic benefits.
Several United Nations Security Council resolutions have called for the program's suspension to enable talks on an agreement to defuse Western suspicions that Iran is secretly trying to develop nuclear weapons via enrichment.
The Islamic Republic denies this, saying it needs nuclear technology to generate more electricity for a growing population so it can export more of its oil and natural gas.