TURKISH FM SAYS OBAMA'S LETTERS LAY GROUNDWORK OF TEHRAN DEAL

ANKARA (A.A) - 10.06.2010 - The Turkish foreign minister said late on Wednesday that the letters U.S. President Barack Obama wrote to Turkey laid the groundwork of the uranium swap agreement with Tehran.
Turkey's Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said meeting with Mr. Obama in April also laid the groundwork of the agreement.
"Turkey progressed step-by-step and laid the groundwork of the Tehran agreement," Davutoglu told a televised interview. 
Davutoglu said the letter sent to Turkey was the same with that sent to Brazil, and the main factors demanded in the letter were ensured by the Tehran agreement.
Under an agreement signed by Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu, Iranian Foreign Minister Manuchehr Motaki and Brazilian Foreign Minister Celso Amorim in Tehran on May 17, Iran committed to give 1200kg of 3.5% enriched uranium to Turkey in exchange for 20% enriched uranium it will receive from Western countries to be used as fuel in the nuclear research reactor in Tehran.     
Tehran will receive the enriched uranium from the Vienna Group, comprising of the United States, France, Russia and IAEA, in Turkey.
"Turkey is against nuclear weapons, and wants a region purified from nuclear weapons," Davutoglu said.  
Davutoglu said peaceful use of nuclear energy was everybody's right, Iran should behave transparently regarding its nuclear program and take action in cooperation with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). 
"We are the only United Nations (UN) Security Council member, who is a neighbor of Iran," Davutoglu said.
Davutoglu said sanctions on Iran would have a cost on Turkey, and Turkey wanted sanctions on Iran to be lifted.
"Turkey-Iran trade volume is around 10 billion USD, and it can rise to 30 billion USD if sanctions are lifted," Davutoglu also said.
Turkey voted against the resolution of the UN Security Council imposing a fourth round of sanctions on Iran over its nuclear program.
The 15-nation council passed the resolution earlier in the day. The resolution was approved with 12 'yes' votes, two 'no' votes from Brazil and Turkey, and one abstention from Lebanon.