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Iran Nuclear Talks to Continue January in Istanbul

   VOA News 07 December 2010
   EU  High  Representative  for  Foreign  Affairs Catherine Ashton (file
   photo)

Photo: AP

   European  Union  Representative  for  Foreign Affairs Catherine Ashton
   (file photo)

   Iran  and major world powers plan to hold another round of talks about
   Tehran's  controversial  nuclear  program  by  the  end  of January in
   Istanbul, Turkey.
   Catherine  Ashton, the European Union's top diplomat, said Tuesday the
   talks  will  address the "core concerns" of the United States, Russia,
   China,  Britain, France and Germany regarding Iran's atomic ambitions.
   Iranian  sources  confirmed  Iran's  agreement  to  participate in the
   January talks.
   The announcement came as Iran's top nuclear envoy and senior diplomats
   from world powers concluded two days of negotiations in Geneva.
   Ashton  said  the  talks  were "detailed and substantive."Â  The talks
   were  the  first  time negotiators had met on the issue in more than a
   year.
   Speaking  in  Iran Tuesday, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said
   lifting  sanctions imposed on his country would help the nuclear talks
   succeed.
   The  United  Nations imposed sanctions on Iran for its refusal to stop
   enriching   uranium.   Other  world  bodies  have  imposed  additional
   penalties.
   Many Western countries believe Iran aims to use its uranium enrichment
   program to build atomic weapons, a charge Tehran denies.

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