Turkish FM confirms nuke talks to

ANKARA - Hürriyet Daily News

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The P5+1 group will meet Iran in Istanbul to discuss Tehran’s nuclear program on April 14, Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu confirmed yesterday while also noting Turkey’s willingness to help find a solution.

“Turkey is ready to contribute to finding a solution for regional problems from now on and as it has been up to today,” Davutoğlu said via his Twitter account yesterday.

Davutoğlu said he had received telephone confirmation about the venue for the talks from EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton and Iranian chief nuclear negotiator Saeed Jalili. Turkey favored finding solutions via diplomacy and negotiations, he said.

“Our principle attitude is clear. We want our region purged of nuclear arms and weapons of mass destruction,” the minister said.

In his phone conversation with Jalili, Davutoğlu complained about Iranian press reports that said he had apologized to Iran over Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s recent criticism of the Islamic republic, diplomatic sources said.

Jalili said he would deal with the issue. The P5+1 group consists of the permanent members of the U.N. Security Council, as well as Germany.