World Press on Iran, Turkey and the Caucasus (January 21, 2011)

Today the next round of nuclear talks between Iran and six world powers (Russia, the US, the UK, France, China and Germany) began in Istanbul, Turkey. The world press comments on this event.

The Washington Post reports that the talks are jeopardized by Tehran's refusal to discuss demands for curbs on nuclear activities that could enable it manufacture the fissile core of nuclear warheads. While the six would like to kick-start talks focused at freezing Iran's uranium enrichment program, Tehran has repeatedly said this activity is not up for discussion. Instead, Iranian officials are pushing an agenda that covers just about everything except its nuclear program: global disarmament, Israel's suspected nuclear arsenal, and Tehran's concerns about U.S. military bases in Iraq and elsewhere in the region.

The Los Angeles Times continues the theme. The challenges facing Iran include existing United Nations sanctions, which are supposed to limit access to raw materials needed for the nuclear program, and the computer malware known as Stuxnet, which is believed to have slowed Tehran's nuclear progress. Iran's representatives in Istanbul are expected to focus on topics such as global disarmament and concerns about U.S. military bases in the region. One Western diplomat said expectations for Istanbul are "modest" because in "substance, tone and outcome" the meeting will probably be very similar to the one in Geneva. But another diplomat said: "We expect substance. We expect that Iran makes it clear it is ready for confidence-building measures in the nuclear sphere."

The Guardian adds that Iran came to the table warning that it was in no mood to compromise. "Neither resolutions, sanctions, threats, a computer virus nor even a military attack will stop uranium enrichment in Iran," it quotes Ali Asghar Soltanieh, Iran's envoy to the International Atomic Energy Agency. The enrichment programme led to Iran being on the receiving end of UN security council sanctions and the Stuxnet malware computer virus, which is thought to have been created by Israel or the US. It has also provoked the threat of military strikes from both America and Israel. While the Iranians met several delegations at the Geneva talks, they refused a US overture for a one-on-one meeting in the Swiss city.

Meanwhile, the Turkish information agency Hurriyet published a series of articles concerning the situation in the Caucasus region.

"Council of Europe officials face resistance in Azerbaijan, Armenia" is the headline of the article which says that Azerbaijan has failed to grant a visa to a Council of Europe, or CoE, rapporteur for the Caucasus country, while the body is also facing resistance in Armenia. Mr Straesser serves as the Parliamentary Assembly of the CoE's, or PACE, special rapporteur on political prisoners in Azerbaijan. Baku allowed Straesser to visit in November, when he was part of a PACE mission observing the parliamentary elections. But he said he has been unable to secure a government invitation, required because of his position as a special rapporteur. The Azerbaijani authorities deny they are holding any political prisoners. They say the people identified as political prisoners by local human rights defenders and international watchdogs were sentenced for committing criminal offences.

The other article published by Hurriyet is headlined "Georgian FM meets Azeri president." Georgian Foreign Minister Grigol Vashadze met with Azerbaijani President ?lham Aliyev in Baku on Tuesday to discuss economic cooperation and regional security. On January 13 European Commission President Jos? Manuel Barroso and Aliyev signed a joint declaration on the Southern Gas Corridor, calling for long-term supplies of Azerbaijani gas to Europe. According to the EU-Azerbaijan declaration, the Southern Gas Corridor is "a stepping stone in increasing European energy security." During his official two-day visit to Baku, the Georgian foreign minister will also meet his Azerbaijani counterpart, Elmar Mammadyarov, and Transport Minister Zia Mamedov.

In "Sukhumi criticizes EU's Abkhaz policy" Hurriyet reports that the foreign minister of the breakaway Georgian region of Abkhazia said on Monday that his government was "sceptical" about the European Union's policy of engagement without recognition. "At the moment, Europe "is not ready for cooperation with Abkhazia in the way it should be. But this can't last forever; it's impossible to ignore reality for so long. ... Non-recognition of Abkhazia by the West and the EU is not our problem, it's their problem." In an interview with Civil.ge last May, Peter Semneby, the EU's special representative for the South Caucasus, said both the non-recognition and engagement "are indispensable parts of one policy."