Minister: Tehran negotiates talks date with world powers

PanARMENIAN.Net - Iranian Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi said Tehran and the Group 5+1 (the five permanent UN Security Council members - the U.S., Britain, Russia, China and France plus Germany) are in discussion over a proper date for future talks.

"We have always announced that we are ready for negotiations with the G5+1 but this is them who sometimes set preconditions for us," Salehi said in Tehran on Tuesday, Jan 17.

He referred to the consultations underway between EU High Representative for Foreign and Security Policy Catherine Ashton and Iran's chief negotiator Saeed Jalili over the date for future talks, and said the both sides have reached an agreement to hold negotiations in a not far future but the exact date has not been decided yet.

"Mr. Jalili and Ms. Ashton are still continuing their consultations," Salehi said, Fars News Agency reported.

Meantime, Turkish officials announced earlier this month that Iran and the Group 5+1 have accepted to pick up Turkey as the venue for their future talks.

Turkey's Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said Iran and the six world powers are ready to resume talks in Turkey.

Davutoglu said he had talks with the European Union's foreign policy chief, Catherine Ashton about his recent visit to Tehran and that he now expects the talks with Tehran to resume as soon as possible.

"Both parties agreed in principle to hold talks in Turkey, and I hope negotiations will begin as soon as possible," the foreign minister was quoted as saying in an interview with the Japanese newspaper Nihon Keizai Shimbun (Nikkei), published earlier this week.

Iran and G5+1 attended three rounds of talks in Istanbul, Turkey, in January 2011.

The Iranian side was led by Jalili, while Ashton headed delegations from the six world powers.