Iran: First round of nuclear talks to be held in Turkey

Azerbaijan, Baku, April 8 / Trend D.Khatinoglu / Nuclear negotiations between Iran and the Six powers will be held in two rounds, the first round will be held in Istanbul, while the second one will be held in Baghdad if the first round negotiations' results are effective, Fars news agency reported. The agency didn't mention the exact time of upcoming negotiations. The last meeting between Iran and the "six powers" was held in Istanbul 14 months ago. It was reported last month after a recent visit of Erdogan to Tehran that the next meeting between Iran and the "six powers" will be held on April 13 in Istanbul. However, the information was not confirmed, and the exact time and place of the meeting are unknown at the moment. The talks between Iran and the five permanent UN Security Council members plus Germany were expected to take place on April 13, Iranian foreign minister Ali Akbar Salehi said in March. U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said in late March that the April 13-14 negotiations with Iran would be held in Istanbul, the first such meeting since January 2011 when the two sides failed even to agree on an agenda. Iran's Secretary of the Expediency Discernment Council Mohsen Rezaee noted recently after launching "Friends of Syria" conference in Turkey that friendly relations between Iran and Turkey are under question after this act and also considers that the next meeting between the "six powers" and Iran on its nuclear program should be held not in Istanbul, but in Syria, Iraq or Lebanon. Salehi said on April 5 that Istanbul remains an acceptable location for talks with world powers over Tehran's nuclear program, but noted that his country has proposed other venues - such as Iraq or China - for the negotiations scheduled to start next week. The western countries suspect Iran of preparing to make nuclear weapons. Iran says its nuclear activities aimed at peaceful purposes. So far, The United Nation Security Council has adopted four rounds of sanctions on Iran. The U.S and its allies also slapped more tightened sanctions on Iran, including embargoes over Iranian banking system and oil crude purchase. Do you have any feedback? Contact our journalist at agency@trend.az