Salehi expressed optimism on Friday that the P5+1 -- comprising of Russia, China, France, Britain, the US, and Germany -- would announce its views about the venue of the talks in “a day or two.”
“The other party was due to announce its opinion last Sunday (February 16) about the ... countries that expressed readiness to host the negotiations, but apparently they still haven’t arrived at a conclusion,” Salehi said.
“I personally prefer that the talks be held in Istanbul and [as for the time of the talks] I hope they are not that far away [in the future],” he added.
On Wednesday, Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said the talks between Iran and the P5+1 will probably resume in April at the latest.
“If they (Iran and P5+1) prefer to hold it in Turkey we will always host it," Davutoglu added.
Iran and the P5+1 held two rounds of multifaceted talks, one in Geneva in December 2010 and another in Istanbul, Turkey in January 2011.
Tehran says it is ready to continue negotiations based on common ground, adding, however, that it has no intention of backing down from its nuclear rights.
The United States, Israel and some of their allies accuse Tehran of pursuing military objectives in its nuclear energy program and have used this pretext to impose unilateral and international sanctions against the Islamic Republic.
Iran has refuted the allegations, arguing that as a signatory to the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty and a member of the International Atomic Energy Agency, Tehran is entitled to peaceful use of nuclear technology.
press tv/281
Iranian Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi says Iran and the six world powers are weighing various options for determining the venue of the upcoming nuclear negotiations.
News ID 181554
