Erdogan: "Any country has the right to enrich uranium for peaceful purposes"

Speaking at a joint press conference following his meeting with Kgalema Motlante, the Deputy President of the Republic of South Africa, who arrived in Ankara on Monday for a two-day official visit, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan called South Africa as a key trade partner for Turkey in the African continent. Stressing the two countries’ determination to boost their bilateral ties and cooperation, Erdogan said, “As the largest economy of the African continent, South Africa is Turkey’s most important trade partner in southern Africa.” During the meeting Erdogan and Motlante signed nine agreements on improving cooperation between their countries in various areas. Exerting necessary efforts to implement these agreements will be in the best interest of our countries, Erdogan said. Before the press conference, Erdogan and Motlante also signed a joint declaration. The trade volume between Turkey and South Africa hit $2 billion last year. Asked about latest developments regarding a nuclear swap deal brokered by Turkey and Brazil with Iran in early last week, Erdogan said, “Iran remained committed to the agreement and recently sent a letter to officially notify the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) about the deal to ship much of its low enriched uranium to Turkey in return for nuclear fuel. This letter was handed over to the agency under the supervision of Turkish and Brazilian permanent representatives at the UN.” Stating that Iran’s low-enriched uranium would be sent to Turkey within one month, Erdogan said, “Some say Iran is continuing to enrich uranium despite the deal. If a country produces low-enriched uranium for nuclear energy, there is no problem with this, and it is the right of any country to produce low-enriched uranium for peaceful purposes. This is what Iran is doing right now." For his part, Motlante welcomed the role Turkey has played in the signing of the uranium swap deal with Iran. Motlante said his country appreciates Turkey's facilitating role in the formation of the necessary grounds for the signing of the deal. Commenting on the relations between Turkey and South Africa as well, Motlante said both countries aimed at increasing their trade volume. He also said the two countries could cooperate particularly in energy and mining sectors. Noting that actions needed for establishing peace and stability in problematic regions were discussed during his talks in Ankara, Motlante said that it was important to have a reliable partner like Turkey in order to achieve such goal.