Brazil, Turkey hope for confident UN in dealings with Iran

Brazilian and Turkish foreign ministers Wednesday sent a letter to members of the United Nations (UN) Security Council, asking them to be confident about the nuclear swap deal the two countries had signed with Iran Monday.

Brazilian Foreign Minister Celso Amorim and his Turkish counterpart Ahmet Davutoglu said in the letter that the agreement was a step forward to avoid confrontation and non-peaceful means to resolve the controversy over Iran's nuclear program.

They also urged Security Council permanent members to evaluate the deal in order to "pave the way both for the refueling of the TRR (Tehran Research Reactor) in the most efficient and effective manner and considering issues related with the Iranian nuclear program and the broader issues of mutual concern through constructive dialogue."

The letter included the text of the joint declaration signed by Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, his Iranian counterpart Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan, and was also made public by the Brazilian foreign ministry on its website.

Source: Xinhua

"The Joint Declaration highlights the right to develop research, production and use of nuclear energy for peaceful purposes while underlining the strong conviction of three countries that the nuclear fuel exchange will provide an opportunity to begin a forward-looking process aiming at creating a positive, constructive, non-confrontational atmosphere leading to an era of interaction and cooperation," the letter said.

In the swap deal, Tehran agreed to ship the bulk of its 3.5 percent low-enriched uranium to Turkey for deposit in exchange for 120 kg of 20 percent high-enriched uranium.

The United States has presented a proposal to the UN Security Council to impose economic sanctions on Iran for suspected nuclear weapons production after the signing of the agreement.