Iran, EU to hold atomic talks in Turkey: Agency

Tehran, Apr 23: Iran and the European Union will resume talks in Turkey tomorrow on Tehran's nuclear programme, which the West fears is aimed at building an atomic bomb, the semi-official Fars news agency reported today.

''Iran's chief nuclear negotiator Ali Larijani and European Union foreign policy chief Javier Solana have agreed to hold atomic talks in Turkey,'' an unnamed official told Fars.

The official said Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan had talks with Larijani and Solana in the past days over the issue.

''I am going to meet him (Larijani) on Wednesday, in Turkey.

I expect to begin resumption of the talks that we left some time ago to see if we can move towards negotiations,'' Solana told reporters as he arrived for a meeting of EU foreign ministers in Luxembourg.

It will be Solana and Larijani's first such meeting since the United Nations passed fresh sanctions on Iran in March after Tehran refused to halt uranium enrichment work.

There was no immediate comment from the Iranian Foreign Ministry.

Major powers, who drafted the sanctions resolution, have said Iran must halt nuclear enrichment -- which can be used for making bombs and to generate electricity. The second resolution was a follow-up to a UN resolution adopted on December 23.

Tehran has so far rejected to freeze its enrichment work but both Iran and the big powers have offered further talks to ease the tension, although the sanctions would remain in place until Iran halted enrichment.

Iran expressed hope yesterday that talks with Solana could lead to a solution of its nuclear row, adding Tehran would not yield to international pressure to abandon its nuclear work.

Iran, the world's fourth largest oil exporter, says it wants nuclear programme for generating electricity.

REUTERS

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