Asia

Asia

EU official: Turkey’s role in upcoming Iran nuclear talks limited to being host

13 January 2011 20:09 (UTC +04:00)

Baku-APA. Turkish involvement with the upcoming P5+1 nuclear talks with Iran that will be held in Istanbul next week, will be limited strictly to hosting the event, EU’s foreign affairs chief said here on Thursday, APA reports quoting Xinhua News Agency.

Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu met with EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Catherine Ashton here on Thursday to discuss details and preparations for next week’s talks about the Iranian nuclear issue.

But Turkish involvement will be limited to hosting the event, Ashton told reporters during an evening press conference. "The negotiations began with the P5+1 (five permanent Security Council members and Germany) and we are right to continue the way that we have started," she said.

Davutoglu said "the requirement of being a good host is to ensure that all sides are able to have their discussions in a relaxed environment, beyond that, the talks will be between Iran and P5+1."

Both parties refused to offer details on what will be discussed, expectations of the next week’s meeting, or even their location.

However, Davutoglu added "the fact that the P5+1 talks being held so soon after the previous one, two months ago in Geneva, was a sign that both sides were interested in making progress towards a peaceful resolution."

The five permanent members of the UN Security Council, namely Britain, China, France, Russia and the United States, plus Germany will meet Iranian officials in Istanbul between Jan. 21 and Jan. 22.

Previous meetings between P5+1 and Iran were much more spread out, with almost a year between them.