Ankara had argued that the sanctions proposed by the United Nations Security Council would scupper an agreement that Turkey and Brazil had secured with Iran, under which Tehran would swap part of its stockpile of low-enriched uranium for higher-grade fuel rods. The Security Council resolution passed, with only Turkey and Brazil in dissent. Lebanon abstained, ILNA reported.
Turkish demand came a day after Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said there would be no talks until late August.
Turkish foreign ministry spokesman Burak Ozugergin told a press conference in Ankara, "If they do not sit down and talk, we will be in a worse situation this time next year," according to Turkish state news agency Anadolu Ajansi. "President Ahmadinejad mentioned August. We wish [the talks] would take place sooner."
The U.S., Russia and France have proposed U.N.-brokered, expert-level talks with Iran on the fuel swap deal, Russia's Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Tuesday, the Itar-Tass news agency reported.