TEHRAN, April 23 (RIA Novosti) - The EU's foreign policy and security chief and Iran's top nuclear negotiator will meet in Turkey to discuss the Islamic Republic's nuclear program, an Iranian news agency said Monday.
Javier Solana and Ali Larijani have agreed to hold talks in Turkey following a meeting with Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, the Fars news agency said citing an informed source.
An EU spokesperson confirmed last Friday earlier reports that the talks had been scheduled for April 25.
"I confirm these reports," the spokesperson for Solana told RIA Novosti.
She said Solana would provide details of the planned meeting at a session of the 27 EU foreign ministers April 23 in Luxembourg.
Since Iran resumed uranium enrichment in January 2006, the country has been the focus of international concerns, as some Western countries, particularly the U.S., suspect Tehran is pursuing a covert weapons program. But Tehran has consistently claimed it needs nuclear power for civilian power generation and is fully entitled to its own nuclear program.
The UN Security Council passed a new resolution on Iran March 24 over its refusal to abandon its nuclear program, toughening economic sanctions against the country and accepting the possibility of a military solution to the crisis.
But in defiance to international efforts, Iran announced in April it had started production of nuclear fuel on an industrial scale, and voiced its determination to defend a legitimate right to possess nuclear power.
High ranking Iranian officials, including President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, have repeatedly stated that Iran would not discuss shutting down its uranium enrichment program even if discussions with five permanent members of the UN Security Council and Germany are resumed.
