Turkey, Russia say Vienna talks offer new opportunity to solve Iranian nuclear dispute

Turkish foreign minister and his Russian counterpart expressed hope on Wednesday that Vienna talks on Thursday will create a good opportunity to solve Iranian nuclear dispute.

"There are many reasons to be optimistic. It seems that there is a new opportunity to solve the problem through diplomatic means. We hope this opportunity will not be missed," Abudullah Gul said at a joint news conference with Russian foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov.

Foreign ministers from the five permanent members of the UN Security Council -- the United States, Russia, China, Britain and France -- plus Germany will meet in Vienna on Thursday to discuss a new package of both incentives and penalties in a bid to persuade Iran to give up uranium enrichment.

Lavrov, who arrived in Turkey on Wednesday for a two-day visit, said that the relevant parties should refrain from moves which may jeopardize this opportunity.

Both Turkey and Russia hope that the process of finding a political solution to the Iranian nuclear dispute will be launched at the end of Vienna meeting, Lavrov added.

Turkey, Washington's Nato ally, supports Iran's right to peaceful use of nuclear energy and opposes military action against Iran, but also calls on Tehran to "cooperate transparently" with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).

The United Sates has not asked to use Turkey's territories for a possible military action against Iran, Gul said, underlining the importance of diplomatic solutions.

Commenting on bilateral relations, Gul said that the two countries share common views on many regional and international issues.

The bilateral trade volume between Turkey and Russia has reached 15 billion U.S. dollars, Gul said, adding that their target is to increase it to 25 billion U.S. dollars.

Lavrov noted that Russia attaches importance to the investment opportunities in Turkey in areas such as nuclear energy, oil and natural gas.

Russia is Turkey's second largest trade partner and key energy supplier, accounting for some 60 percent of Turkey's natural gas imports.

Source: Xinhua