Iran FM to visit Turkey after NPT event

Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki will visit Turkey for talks on his return from the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) Review in New York.

On his way back to Tehran, Mottaki plans a one-day stopover in Ankara on Friday for a brief visit and talks with Turkish officials, diplomatic sources said Thursday.

The Iranian minister is scheduled to meet his Turkish counterpart Ahmet Davutoglu to discuss regional and international issues, the sources added.

Mottaki accompanied a delegation headed by President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad during his recent visit to New York to attend the 2010 NPT review conference.

On the sidelines of the international event, Mottaki met his counterparts from various countries including Spain, Switzerland, Sweden, Italy and Denmark.

During the meetings, Mottaki underlined the need for the implementation of the NPT to promote non-proliferation, disarmament and the right to peaceful use nuclear technology — the three pillars of the treaty.

The NPT review conference is held every five years, supposedly to adopt more effective measures to enforce nuclear disarmament. However, the conference has been a failure since major powers that possess nuclear arms have sought to dictate the terms of disarmament per their own global interests.