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Mottaki reiterates need for Turkey and Brazil to join nuclear talks

IRNA - Islamic Republic News Agency

Berlin, Aug 30, IRNA -- Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki reiterated the need for Turkey and Brazil to be included in nuclear talks with the West.

Mottaki said in an interview with the Hamburg-based weekly news magazine Der Spiegel on Monday, 'We want to talk to the so-called Vienna Group about the exchange of fuel: We deliver low enriched uranium in return for 20 percent enriched fuel for our research reactor in Tehran.'

'The negotiating partners are France, Russia, the United States, Iran and the International Atomic Energy Agency in Vienna. There are also proposals to include Turkey and Brazil in these talks,' he added.

Asked about Iran's willingness for a compromise on the dispute over uranium enrichment, he replied, 'We want to talk, but first the structure of the group, which consists of the five permanent members of the Security Council plus Germany, must be changed. Other countries must be added to the group. The talks can then be resumed with this new structure.'

Turkey and Brazil had successfully negotiated an uranium swap with Iran in May which was immediatley snubbed by the US and the European Union.

Iran's top diplomat stressed his country could not be forced to make a compromise.

'You cannot disregard a country's rights and force it to make compromises. We are determined to defend our right,' Mottaki reaffirmed.

'We don't want more than what is our right. We have created this right without outside assistance. And I think the best thing now would be to recognize this right, within the framework of the appropriate provisions and regulations,' he added.

Mottaki made clear unilateral US and European Union sanctions against Iran were futile.

'Europe will undoubtedly suffer more under the new sanctions than we will. Europe will be the big loser in relation to this policy. We already reduced our trade relations with Europe considerably in recent years,' he said.