Deputy FM: Iran-G5+1 Talks Imminent

A senior Iranian foreign ministry official announced that diplomats are planning the next round of talks between Iran and the six world powers, and added that the final date and venue of the talks will be specified soon.

On February 15, Iran’s chief negotiator and Supreme National Security Council (SNSC) Secretary Saeed Jalili replied to EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton’s letter on talks between Tehran and the six world powers, and welcomed resumption of negotiations between the two sides.

In the letter, Jalili welcomed the readiness of the Group 5+1 (the five permanent UN Security Council members – Russia, China, Britain, France and the US plus Germany) to resume talks with Iran.

On Wednesday, Deputy Foreign Minister for Legal and International Affairs Seyed Abbas Araqchi told FNA that the relevant parties to the talks are planning the next round of negotiations based on Jalili’s reply letter to Ashton.

“Turkey has voiced preparedness to host the meeting,” Araqchi said, and added, “I think that the exact date and venue of the negotiations will be decided soon after internal discussions among the G5+1 member states and also discussions between us and them and between us and others (outside the G5+1 group).”

Meantime, Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu announced on Tuesday that talks between Iran and the world powers may resume in April at the latest.

“I have the belief that the negotiations … might take place in a month’s time, in April at the latest,” Davutoglu was quoted as saying by the Anatolia news agency, citing an interview with state-run TRT Haber late Tuesday.

“If they prefer Turkey, we always host them and do our best,” he said.

Davutoglu noted that he is scheduled to meet with his Iranian counterpart Ali Akbar Salehi next week.

Iran and the G5+1 held two rounds of multifaceted talks in Geneva in December 2010 and in the Turkish city of Istanbul in January 2011.

While Tehran says it is ready to continue the talks based on common grounds, it has stressed that it will not give up any of its rights.