Iran 'ready for nuclear program talks'

MOSCOW - Tehran is ready to resume talks with the Iran Six, a diplomatic group made up of the United States, China, Russia, Britain, France and Germany, on its nuclear program in Turkey, the Iranian ambassador to Russia said Wednesday.

"Since Turkey said it was ready, we have agreed the talks to take place in Turkey. Regarding the timing, we are waiting for Mrs Ashton (EU foreign policy chief) to define it," Ambassador Seyyed Mahmoud Reza Sajjadi told the Interfex news agency.

The ambassador also said Iran's foreign minister already held unofficial talks in December with Catherine Ashton in Bonn, Germany.

He added that Tehran did not believe the EU would embargo Iran's oil shipments as the move would aggravate the economic crisis in Europe.

Also Wednesday, the Russian Foreign Ministry confirmed Iran's Interior Minister Mostafa Mohammad Najar would arrive in Moscow on Sunday for a three-day visit. The two sides were expected to discuss Iran's nuclear program.

Following an International Atomic Energy Agency report on Iran's nuclear program in November, the US, Britain and Canada announced new sanctions against Tehran and are still working to impose an embargo on Gulf nation's crude oil exports.