Ahmadinejad, Turkish FM meet in Iran
Updated: Friday, November 20, 2009
14:00GMT—9:00AM/EST
Washington, 20 November (WashingtonTV)—Turkey’s Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu met Iran’s President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad on Friday, amid mounting pressure on Tehran over its nuclear program.
The two held talks in the northern Iranian city of Tabriz. The meeting focused on Iran’s nuclear program, as well as bilateral and regional economic relations, diplomats said, according to the Hurriyet newspaper.
Davutoglu had been invited to Iran by Iran’s Vice President Mohammad Reza Rahimi. Both men were in Kabul to attend the swearing-in ceremony of Afghan President Hamid Karzai.
Iran’s Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki joined Davutoglu and Ahmadinejad during their private meeting in Tabriz.
Turkey has said it is willing to take part in a United Nations-brokered nuclear fuel deal between Iran and world powers, aimed at easing fears over Tehran’s nuclear program.
Under the draft deal, Iran would ship most of its low-enriched uranium to Russia and France for further processing, for end use in a research reactor in Tehran.
After some Iranian officials voiced concern that world powers would take the Iranian uranium and not return any fuel, International Atomic Energy Agency chief, Mohamed ElBaradei, proposed that Iran send its uranium to Turkey for temporary safekeeping.
However, Mottaki said on Wednesday that Tehran would not send any of its uranium abroad, and instead proposed a simultaneous exchange of the uranium and nuclear fuel within Iran’s borders.
On Thursday, Davutoglu said that Ankara would continue efforts to persuade Tehran to ship its low-enriched uranium abroad, reports Russia’s RIA Novosti news agency.
Sources: Hurriyet newspaper, RIA Novosti news agency
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