Istanbul (AsiaNews / Agencies) - Iran and the larger world powers will seek, today and tomorrow to make some progress towards a settlement of the disputed Iranian nuclear program. The negotiators from China, France, Germany, Russia, the United States and the United Kingdom are meeting their counterparts on the shore of the Bosphorus, in a former Ottoman palace turned into a luxury hotel. The U.S. State Department spokesman, Mark Toner, expressed some hope: "We do not expect sensational results. But we want to see the emergence of a constructive process ... that will lead Iran to engage in a credible process aimed at addressing the concerns of the international community regardng its nuclear program. "
The West suspects that Iran aims to build nuclear weapons, Iran denies this and insists that its uranium enrichment program is for peaceful uses and respects the international rules. The United Nations has imposed sanctions against Iran, accusing it of not disclosing enough details of its nuclear program.
The demand of the West is that Iran dispose of its stocks of depleted uranium, which would amount to about three tons. The Iranian officials say they are willing to get rid of a part of its stocks, but "a part" does not satisfy Western negotiators. Depleted uranium can be enriched and used to build nuclear bombs. In May 2010 Brazil and Turkey have reached a tentative agreement with Iran regarding the case of a certain amount of its stocks of depleted uranium, but the Western powers have not given their consent to this plan. The meeting in Istanbul is the third attempt to reach agreement on the problem of Iranian uranium stocks.