ANKARA, Turkey, Feb. 24 (UPI) -- Ankara's partnership with Washington is strained over the effort to end a nuclear standoff with neighboring Iran, official statements show.
Washington is running out of patience with Iran's nuclear ambitions. Iran announced recently that its first batch of uranium was enriched to 20 percent and turned over to scientists. Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said his scientists were capable of enriching uranium to weapons-grade level but would abstain from doing so.
Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu traveled to Tehran recently to meet with Iranian officials to discuss the nuclear imbroglio.
Ankara, the minister said, was pressing for a diplomatic solution to end the simmering dispute between Iran and the international community.
Ankara, a non-permanent member of the U.N. Security Council, held out on a November vote to censure Tehran over its nuclear activity. Both sides, meanwhile, have strong ties in the energy sector.
Glyn Davies, the U.S. envoy to the International Atomic Energy Agency, however, told an audience at the Turkey's International Strategic Research Organization that Washington was moving away from the engagement effort, Turkey's English-language daily newspaper Hurriyet reports.
"We appreciate very much the openness, the transparency in the relationship between the United States and Turkey," he said. "But that doesn't change (the Iran situation) for us."
