Iran Six start nuclear talks in Turkey, no breakthrough awaited
14:48 21/01/2011 ANKARA, January 21 (RIA Novosti) - The group of international mediators of Iran's controversial nuclear program, known as the Iran Six, started on Friday two days of closed talks with Iranian officials in Istanbul.
U.S. diplomats said they did not believe the talks would bring any breakthrough. The Iranian side expressed hope that the negotiations would be held in a "constructive manner."
The EU foreign policy chief, Catherine Ashton, who is leading the talks, is expected to offer Iran aid for a peaceful nuclear program in exchange for the Islamic Republic cooperating with the international community, Turkish and Western media said, citing sources, close to the talks.
On Thursday, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov called for the talks to be all-encompassing, covering not only Iran's nuclear program but also "the prospect of dropping [the latest set of] sanctions as Iran begins to cooperate with the IAEA more effectively."
During the talks Iran expressed its readiness to realize a trilateral agreement reached in May 2010 between Iran, Brazil and Turkey that set out terms under which Iran would exchange in Turkey most of its 3.5%-enriched uranium for 20%-enriched fuel for use in a scientific research reactor in Tehran, local media said.
That proposal was last year rejected by the Iran Six, which comprises Russia, the United States, China, Britain, France and Germany. The major world powers have been trying since 2003 to convince Iran to halt its uranium enrichment program and to alleviate concerns about its nuclear ambitions.
The West suspects Tehran of pursuing a secret nuclear weapons program, which Iran strongly denies, insisting it needs atomic energy solely for civilian purposes. Iran is currently under four sets of UN sanctions over its refusal to suspend uranium enrichment.
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