Tehran: Long-stalled talks between Iran and
world powers are to be revived on April 13 at a place yet to be agreed, Iranian Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi was quoted as saying by official media Wednesday.
Salehi announced the date as he welcomed visiting Turkish
Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan to Tehran for a two-day
visit focusing on Iran`s nuclear programme and bilateral ties,
the official Islamic Republic News Agency reported.
"The venue will be announced in coming days," IRNA quoted Salehi as saying.
Salehi added that Iran considered Istanbul -- the
location of the previous round of talks, which collapsed in
January 2011 -- the "best place" but that options were still
being discussed.
The discussions are to be held between Iran and the
so-called P5+1 group comprising the five permanent UN Security
Council members -- the United States, Russia, France, Britain
and China -- plus Germany.
The office of EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton,
who represents the P5+1, had said as recently as Tuesday that
no date nor venue had yet been agreed.
Western diplomats accredited to the International Atomic
Energy Agency in Vienna also told AFP up to yesterday that
they were not aware of any agreement fixing the place and date
of the talks.
The talks carry hopes of defusing a tense international
showdown over Iran`s nuclear activities that has sent oil
prices soaring.
Israel has brandished the threat of possible military
action against Iran`s nuclear sites, while the United States
has put its energies into sanctions and diplomacy but has not
ruled out the military option.
PTI
