Turkey Negotiates Nuclear Ties With Iran

Source: St. Petersburg Times

ISTANBUL — Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad began talks here Thursday on closer ties with Turkey and Tehran’s controversial nuclear program on his first ever bilateral visit to a NATO-member country.

Ahmadinejad’s two-day visit comes amid mounting tension over the Islamic Republic’s nuclear drive, which the West suspects is a cover for a secret nuclear weapons program.

Iran is refusing to halt its uranium enrichment activities even though it is facing a fresh round of sanctions after failing to give a clear response to an incentives package offered by six world powers.
It has however agreed to continue talks with the European Union aimed at resolving the dispute.
Turkey, which has significantly improved relations with Iran in recent years, believes it can help resolve the stand-off through its close ties with both its eastern neighbor and western powers.

Foreign Minister Ali Babacan said last month that Ankara was taking on a role “of consolidating and facilitating” the talks rather than formal mediation. In a joint television interview with Turkey’s NTV and CNN-Turk news channels on Wednesday, Ahmadinejad sounded an upbeat note on the talks with the six powers — Britain, China, France, Germany, Russia and the United States.

“We think that the question of nuclear power is going in the right direction,” he said. “The negotiations are good negotiations and that is going to continue.”
Tehran also appreciated Ankara’s “efforts to reduce the tensions and establish a constructive dialogue,” he added.

Turkey, which itself is seeking to build its first nuclear power plant, says Iran has the right to possess nuclear power for peaceful purposes, but opposes nuclear weapons in the region...cont'd



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