Turkish FM plans to visit Iran for nuclear talks

Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu is expected to pay a visit to Iran for nuclear talks, the semi-official Anatolia news agency reported on Tuesday.

Davutoglu said his office is working to arrange for him to visit Tehran later Tuesday or after a two-day trip to Kazakhstan on Feb. 10-12.

Speaking at a press conference following his talks with Thorbjorn Jagland, secretary general of the Council of Europe (COE) , in the Turkish capital of Ankara, Davutoglu said that he would go to Iran after Tehran announced it started enriching uranium to 20 percent on Tuesday.

On Iran's enrichment of uranium, Davutoglu said that he was not pessimistic about the issue, believing that there was still a common ground.

Davutoglu said that he talked with Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki by telephone Tuesday morning about the issue, adding that he wanted to meet with the Iranian president, Mottaki and other officials.

On Sunday, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad ordered the Iran's Atomic Energy Organization to start work on enriching uranium to a purity of 20 percent. Ahmadinejad also said that Iran is still ready for exchange of nuclear fuel with world powers.

On Monday, Iran handed over a letter to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) informing it about the Islamic Republic 's plan to produce 20 percent enriched uranium, provoking fresh warnings by France and the United States of new sanctions.

Source: Xinhua