Turkey, U.S. to debate Iran’s nuclear programMay 31, 2010 - 14:45 AMT PanARMENIAN.Net - Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu is flying to Washington for talks on Tuesday with his U.S. counterpart, Hillary Clinton, and Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan plans to meet with President Barack Obama next month as the two NATO allies work to contain a deepening dispute over how to deal with Iran's nuclear program, Today’s Zaman reported. The rift puts Turkish-U.S. ties at risk, which, in the words of Davutoglu, were in their “golden age” until quite recently. Turkey, working together with fellow UN Security Council member Brazil, managed on May 17 to get Iran agree to a deal almost identical to one proposed by the UN atomic watchdog International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and backed by the U.S. and other world powers only seven months ago. But the U.S. swiftly dismissed the deal as nothing but a “ploy” for Iran to avoid sanctions. Iran's nuclear program Iran's leaders have worked to pursue nuclear energy technology since the 1950s, spurred by the launch of U.S. President Dwight D. Eisenhower's Atoms for Peace program. It made steady progress, with Western help, through the early 1970s. But concern over Iranian intentions followed by the upheaval of the Islamic Revolution in 1979 effectively ended outside assistance. Iran was known to be reviving its civilian nuclear programs during the 1990s, but revelations in 2002 and 2003 of clandestine research into fuel enrichment and conversion raised international concern that Iran's ambitions had metastasized beyond peaceful intent. Although Iran has consistently denied allegations it seeks to develop a bomb, the September 2009 revelation of a second uranium enrichment facility near the holy city of Qom -constructed under the radar of international inspectors - deepened suspicion surrounding Iran's nuclear ambitions. Top stories Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev arrived in Moscow on April 22 to hold talks with Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin. Authorities said a total of 192 Azerbaijani troops were killed and 511 were wounded during Azerbaijan’s offensive. In 2023, the Azerbaijani government will increase the country’s defense budget by more than 1.1 billion manats ($650 million). The bill, published on Monday, is designed to "eliminate the shortcomings of an unreasonably broad interpretation of the key concept of "compatriot". Partner news | Concept to complete Yerevan Cascade discussed at city hall A conceptual proposal to complete the Cascade complex in downtown Yerevan has been presented by Jean-Michel Wilmotte. Pashinyan visits flood-hit region Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan on Saturday, June 8 visited the disaster area in the Lori province. €3.5 mln EU grant to support justice reforms in Armenia The European Union has paid €3.5 mln grant to Armenia within a €11mln program on Support to Justice Reforms. Yerevan reacts to Baku’s proposal to see Minsk Group abolition Alen Simonyan has declared that Armenia is taking steps aimed at concluding a peace treaty with Azerbaijan. |