The Washington Post published an article "Iran's nuke tour without major powers, key allies." It says that a weekend tour of Iran's nuclear sites appears set to go ahead without Russia, China, the European Union or key allies Turkey and Brazil, blunting Tehran's attempts to gain support from major powers ahead of crucial talks on its atomic activities. On the eve of the visit, Iranian envoy Ali Asghar Soltanieh said Friday that representatives of nonaligned nations, developing countries, the Arab League, Venezuela and Syria had accepted invitations to visit Iran's central Natanz enrichment facility and its still-unfinished heavy water reactor at Arak. With crucial talks between Iran and six world powers in Istanbul just a week away, the timing of the nuclear tour and the choice of nations invited appeared a possible attempt to weaken unity among Iran's interlocutors. Neither the U.S. nor the three other Western nations were invited to Iran's weekend tour.
The Turkish information agency Hurriyet reports that quickly rising food prices and slowing agricultural production have presented Armenia's new agriculture minister, Sergo Karapetian, with a difficult task as shoppers remain pessimistic about the government's new plans to deal with the problem. The biggest price surge was recorded in late December, on the eve of the New Year holiday, when preparations for festivities were in full swing. Overall, the government estimates that Armenia's agricultural production plummeted by 14.5 percent last year, a drop caused by inclement weather and the Agriculture Ministry's allegedly slow response to adverse conditions.
"EU, Azerbaijan sign gas deal to bypass Russia." The article published by Hurriyet says that The European Union and Azerbaijan signed a deal Thursday in which the Caspian country commits to supply Europe with "substantial volumes of gas," an agreement the EU said was an important step to reduce the bloc's dependence on deliveries from Russia. But Baku has not yet decided whether the EU-backed Nabucco pipeline project will get the award from the big Shah Deniz II gas field, or whether the contract will go to smaller rival projects. Moscow's disputes with Ukraine and Belarus have in the past cut off supplies to Central and Western Europe, making European policymakers keen to develop alternative routes to get their gas. Currently, the EU gets about 40 percent of its natural gas from Russia.
The Iranian information agency Press TV reports that Iran's Supreme National Security Council (SNSC) has urged the six major world powers known as the P5+1 group to inspire trust during the upcoming multifaceted talks. SNSC Secretary Saeed Jalili says the West should seize the opportunity in the next round of comprehensive talks, due to begin on January 21 in the Turkish city of Istanbul, "to reclaim the Iranian nation's trust" and build confidence. Iranian, Turkish and Brazilian officials issued a joint declaration on May 17 after the West refused to provide objective guarantees for Iran to timely receive the fuel it requires for its medical reactor. Under the declaration, Tehran expressed its readiness to exchange 1,200 kg of its low-enriched uranium on Turkish soil with 20-percent enriched nuclear fuel.
Press TV published an article which says that Iranian Navy's Deputy Commander Rear Admiral Gholam-Reza Khadem Bigham claims the navy aims to build new destroyers with state-of-the-art design and defense systems. Last February, the Iranian Navy launched the Jamaran destroyer with a displacement of around 1,420 tons, fitted with modern radars and other electronic warfare capabilities. Rear Admiral Bigham also said that the Naval Forces of the Islamic Republic Army is fully capable of defending the country as they continue to upgrade the navy's defense systems. He underscored the navy's plans for longer missions in international waters and pointed out that more durable surface and sub-surface fleet were required to achieve the goal.
