Iranian Minister: “Consultations are underway to arrange nuclear talks with Group 5+1”

Iranian Minister of Foreign Affairs Ali Akbar Salehi announced on Friday that consultations are underway to arrange nuclear talks with Group 5+1, hoping that the group will announce its view about the venue for the talks in the next one or two days.

Salehi made the remarks while talking to reporters after he cast his vote for the Majlis elections on Friday, IRNA writes.

He further added that the group was about to declare its opinion about the venue last Sunday but it seems that it has not yet arrived at a conclusion in this regard.

Referring to his talks with the Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu, Salehi said, “I personally am interested in Istanbul to be the venue.”

He further said that any delay in the talks has nothing to do with the talks with the International Atomic Energy Agency, because the talks with Group 5+1 are of political nature while negotiations with the agency should have technical and legal overtones.

Salehi reaffirmed commitment to holding talks with Group 5+1.

Group 5+1 comprises Russia, China, the US, France and Britain (permanent members of UN Security Council) plus Germany.

Referring to the negotiations on Iranian nuclear program Russian Foreign Ministry spokesman, Alexander Lukashevich announced that positive changes in the trend of Iran-IAEA talks have taken place since the beginning of 2012.

Lukashevich told his weekly news conference that visits of a high-ranking delegations of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) headed by IAEA deputy chief, Herman Nackaerts, to Iran two times before endorsed the positive trend of talks.

He hoped that recent visits by IAEA inspectors to Iran will be fruitful.

Lukashevich further noted that Russia will take all its efforts to solve Iran‘s nuclear case through diplomatic means.

Moscow favors resumption of talks by both sides (Iran and Group 5+1) so that they will be able to solve the problems in future, he said.

Russia welcomes Secretary of Supreme National Security Council Saeed Jalili’s recent message to EU Foreign Policy Chief Catherine Ashton to resume talks without any preconditions.

 The West tries to make economical pressure on Iran and urge it to refuse the nuclear program but Iran claims the the nuclear enrichment is just for the civilian needs and it will be continued.