Iranian FM: Nuclear talks 'expected' to begin next week

A year after negotiations stalled between Teheran and world powers, Iran also reminds IAEA of its duties to promote "peaceful nuclear energy."

By JPOST.COM STAFF, ASSOCIATED PRESS
Bushehr pic newer (photo credit: ASSOCIATED PRESS)
Bushehr pic newer
(photo credit: ASSOCIATED PRESS)
Iran — Iran on Tuesday offered to resume nuclear talks with the United States and other world powers next week after pushing for a shift of venue to Turkey to give Tehran an ally on the sidelines.
It was not immediately clear, however, whether the mothballed negotiations could be restarted as quickly as next Monday — under the Iranian proposal carried by the semiofficial Mehr news agency.
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Iran also has sent mixed signals in the past over its willingness to discuss Western demands to curb its nuclear ambitions, including sending counter-proposals and using delaying tactics that effectively brought talks to an impasse.
After the Iranian announcement, Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said no firm date has been set for the talks, Turkey's state-run Anatolia news agency reported.
In Paris, French Foreign Ministry spokesman Bernard Valero said there was "no confirmation" through official channels about the time or place to resume talks.
But the proposal, attributed to Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki, shows Iran's apparent eagerness to reopen dialogue over its nuclear ambitions after facing tighter international economic sanctions. Several Iranian officials, including President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, have endorsed the idea of new talks in response to an invitation last month from the European Union's foreign affairs and security chief, Catherine Ashton.
Talks with the six nations — the United States, Russia, China, Britain, France and Germany — collapsed last year after Iran balked at a U.N.-drafted plan to send most of its enriched uranium abroad in exchange for reactor-ready fuel for a Tehran facility that makes isotopes for cancer treatment.
Iran accepted a uranium-for-fuel swap proposal from allies Brazil and Turkey, but the six nations said that offer fell short of their demands to ensure that Iran does not possess the raw materials for a nuclear weapon.
The UN Security Council imposed a fourth round of tough sanctions against Iran in June over its refusal to halt enrichment.
Although Iran has opened the door to restarting talks, it has not given any indication it might be willing to accept Western demands to stop enriching uranium — which can be used to make fuel for power plants as well as material for warheads.
The Mehr agency quoted Mottaki as saying talks were "expected" to start Monday. Mottaki had earlier suggested Turkey as the venue.
Mottaki said both Iran and the West should show "flexibility" for setting the date and place of the talks.
"Then it will not be hard to set them," he was quoted as saying.
He also urged the six nations to soften their stance toward Iran.
"In the past, we witnessed confrontation instead of a constructive" approach, he was quoted as saying.
The French Foreign Ministry spokesman, Valero, said there is still no official response from Iran.
"For us, it's very simple on Iran. We are still waiting for a concrete response from Iranian authorities to our proposals made to them — about where, when and about what. We are still waiting for that," he said.
"We don't have any indications" about a November 15 date in Turkey, he added.