Brazil, Turkey stress talks on Iran

Amid US calls for new sanctions against Tehran, Brazil and Turkey say that they will work together to find a diplomatic solution to the Iranian nuclear issue.

Brazil's Foreign Minister Celso Amorim and his Turkish counterpart Ahmet Davutoglo reiterated Friday that their countries were still looking to diplomatic means to resolve the Iran dilemma.

"We will continue to work together to arrive at a diplomatic solution on Iran and we hope that in the course of the coming week we can make some progress on this front," Davutoglo said during a press conference .

Davutoglo said Friday that Turkish Prime Minister Recep Erdogan discussed the Iranian nuclear issue with Brazilian President Luiz Inacia Lula da Silva during a nuclear security summit held in Washington earlier this week.

"After the talks in Washington, we must now exchange views with our Iranian colleagues... and then we shall see what progress we have made," Davutoglo said.

The US, which accuses Iran of seeking nuclear weapons, has been lobbying for more UN Security Council (UNSC) sanctions against Tehran.

Turkey and Brazil, both non-permanent members of the UNSC, have to date opposed new sanctions as a proper solution to the Iranian nuclear issue.

This comes as the US-led push for more sanctions against Iran has also received a chilly response from China, which is one of the five veto-wielding members of the UNSC.

Despite its recent statement that it might support sanctions against Iran, Russia, another permanent member of the Council, has called on parties involved in the Iranian nuclear issue to lean toward diplomacy rather than sanctions.

Iran says any punitive measures against it are legally baseless as Tehran's nuclear energy program is being fully monitored by the UN nuclear watchdog, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).

Source: PressTV.
Link: http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=123542§ionid=351020104.