TEHRAN: Iran is ready to hold talks with the major powers concerned about its nuclear program “as soon as possible” and Turkey may be the best venue for negotiations, its foreign minister said Sunday. It was the strongest signal yet of Iranian interest in reviving talks that stalled a year ago, leading to tighter international sanctions against Iran over its refusal to curb its nuclear work and make it more accessible to UN inspections. “We have told our Turkish friends that we are in agreement with regard to holding these talks in Turkey,” Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki told a news conference. The Anatolia news agency, meanwhile, reported Turkey is ready to host talks between Iran and six world powers. The Turkish Foreign Ministry said Mottaki had been in touch to suggest holding talks there. “We said to Iranian officials that as Turkey we are ready to do our best in that regard. But there is no decision yet regarding the exact timing and place of the talks,” an official said. The “P5+1” partners – the United States, Russia, China, France and Britain, all permanent members of the UN Security Council, plus Germany – have offered talks on Nov. 15-17 in Vienna, an approach welcomed by Iran but not formally agreed to. Iran has sent mixed signals over a resumption of talks. President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has dismissed the sanctions as no more effective than a “used handkerchief”. A senior Ahmadinejad aide said that even if Iran does agree to the talks it will not negotiate about its nuclear program – which would be a non-starter for the powers. But Mottaki was upbeat. “Consultations are under way, they are on the right track,” he said. “We are hopeful that the time and the agenda and content of the talks will soon be agreed upon by both parties and that both parties will start the talks as soon as possible.” A spokesman for Catherine Ashton, the European Union's foreign policy chief, said she was aware of Mottaki's comments, “but we have not yet received an official proposal from Iran in this regard. “Once we receive an official proposal for a specific time and place to meet, we will consider this with our (P5+1) partners and respond accordingly,” the spokesman said.
