“Given its geostrategic and geopolitical situation and its good ties with Iran, Iraq is a suitable venue for the talks with the P5+1,” Head of Majlis National Security and Foreign Policy Committee Alaeddin Boroujerdi said on Thursday.
The Iranian lawmaker further said that Iraq has a good relationship with the P5+1 member states - the US, Britain, China, Russia, France plus Germany, adding, however, that other options will be considered if the six world powers oppose the choice.
“Of course, it goes without saying that Asia has a greater chance for hosting the talks,” he said.
On Wednesday, Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoshiyar Zebari said Baghdad welcomes the idea of hosting a fresh round of negotiations between Iran and the P5+1.
Iran proposed Iraq as the venue for the talks during a meeting between Zebari and a high-ranking Iranian delegation, headed by Deputy Secretary of the Supreme National Security Council (SNSC) Ali Baqeri and the SNSC Director General for Arab Affairs Reza Amiri in Baghdad on Tuesday.
US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said on Saturday that the talks between Iran and the P5+1 will be held in Turkey on April 13-14.
Iran's Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi, however, said on Wednesday that SNSC Secretary Saeed Jalili would announce the venue for the talks in the near future.
Iran and the P5+1 have held two rounds of multifaceted talks, one in Geneva in December 2010 and another in the Turkish city of Istanbul in January 2011.
Tehran says it is ready to resume the talks based on common grounds; however, it has repeatedly made it clear that it will not compromise on any of its rights.
press tv/281
A senior Iranian lawmaker says Iraq is an appropriate choice to host the upcoming negotiations between Iran and the world’s major powers.
News ID 181673
