Turkey, Brazil may join Iranian nuclear talks: EU

The statement comes two weeks after Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki said Tehran wanted Turkey and Brazil to take part in nuclear talks.

The European Union will discuss with the P5+1 — the five permanent members of the UN Security Council plus Germany — the inclusion of Turkey and Brazil in negotiations with Iran over its nuclear program, the spokesperson for EU foreign affairs chief Catherine Ashton has said.

Ashton’s spokesperson stated on Wednesday that a final decision would be made after consulting with all parties involved, Russian news agency RIA Novosti reported.

Turkish diplomatic sources told Turkey’s Cihan news agency on Thursday said Ankara has not yet received an official request for their involvement, while reiterating that the Turkish capital has often emphasized that Turkey would take part in Iranian nuclear talks only if all parties in the dispute requested their involvement.

The statement comes two weeks after Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki said Tehran wanted Turkey and Brazil to take part in talks spearheaded by a group of international mediators consisting of Russia, the US, China, France, Britain and Germany.

In early July,Mottaki said that Tehran believes the P5+1 should expand. “There have to be changes in the structure of the P5+1 group. New countries must join this group,” Mottaki asserted at the time.

Over the weekend in Istanbul, following a meeting between Mottaki, Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu and Brazilian Foreign Minister Celso Amorim, the Turkish minister underlined that there are two tracks regarding Iran’s nuclear issue: one being the nuclear swap deal agreed on by Iran, Brazil and Turkey on May 17, and the other, the negotiation process between Iran and the P5+1. Davutoglu more than once stressed that Brazil and Turkey could play an important role in facilitating talks.

Regarding the two countries’ possible involvement in both tracks in the future, Davutoglu stated that Turkey would be pleased to help facilitate only if all parties in the dispute requested their involvement.

As of Monday, speaking at a joint news conference with visiting German Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle, Davutoglu said Iran had confirmed that Ashton and Iran’s chief nuclear negotiator, Saeed Jalili, would meet in early September, after Ramadan, the Muslim month of fasting.