Davutoglu speaks with IAEA's Elbaradei about Iran's nuclear program

Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu yesterday had a telephone conversation with Mohammed El Baradei, the outgoing head of the UN's nuclear watchdog, and discussed Iran's nuclear program, the Foreign Ministry said. Davutoglu told ElBaradei, chairman of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), about talks with Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad as well as his meeting with his Iranian counterpart Manouchehr Mottaki, ministry spokesman Burak Ozugergin said. He said Davutoglu shared his observations from meetings he, President Abdullah Gul and Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan had with Ahmadinejad and Mottaki, in Istanbul this week during an economic summit of the Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC). ElBaradei and Davutoglu had a comprehensive exchange of views, Ozugergin said, also underlining that ElBaradei offered "some technical details" as well. He said Turkish officials would keep in touch with ElBaradei. ElBaradei recently said he proposed Turkey as a third-country destination to send Iran's enriched uranium. Tehran has yet to give a full, official reply to the proposal, which was drafted three weeks ago after consultations with Iran, France, Russia and the US. On Monday, Davutoglu said ElBaradei's proposal had been discussed with Ahmadinejad and Mottaki. “We're in a very constructive position with both the IAEA and Iran," Davutoglu said then. On Wednesday, the US State Department expressed support for the IAEA proposal. The Russian Foreign Ministry yesterday announced Russia's support for El Baradei's offer, saying that they expect Iran to positively respond to the IAEA. Iran had earlier rejected a proposal for the uranium to be sent to Russia. Speaking to reporters in Istanbul this week, Ahmadinejad declined to comment directly on ElBaradei’s proposal but added, "We have very good relations with Turkey. We trust each other."