"Turkey's honesty was among the reasons for choosing the country as the host for the negotiations between Tehran and the West," Head of the Iranian parliament's National Security and Foreign Policy Commission Alaeddin Boroujerdi said in Tehran on Wednesday, the FARS news agency reported.
"The Turkish government has proved its honesty in the Tehran Declaration, and sincerity and honesty of this country is very important to us," Boroujerdi said.
Boroujerdi thanked Turkey for its preparedness to host the upcoming talks between Tehran and the six world powers, and added that Iran supports Turkey's active role on the international scene.
A tripartite declaration on uranium exchange was reached on May 17 between Iran, Turkey and Brazil. The foreign ministers of these three countries signed a draft agreement for the exchange of Tehran's low-enriched uranium (up to 3.5 percent) for highly enriched uranium (up to 20 percent) for Tehran's research reactor. According to the document, the exchange would be made on Turkish territory.
Last week, the New York Times reported that the "5 +1" countries toughened the conditions for the exchange and decided to receive much lesser enriched uranium from Iran.
EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Catherine Ashton in October invited Iran to hold talks in Vienna in mid-November. In response, Iran's Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki urged the EU to specify the timing of the negotiations. On Oct.16, the EU representatives proposed the period of Nov. 15-18.