Solana: Turkey likely spot for nuke talks

BRUSSELS, Sept. 15 (UPI) -- Nuclear talks next month between Iran and Western powers will likely be held in Turkey, European Union foreign policy chief Javier Solana said Tuesday.

Solana also told reporters in Brussels the United States would be at the table with Iran "in a formalized manner," which he called a new development, CNN reported.

Burak Ozugergin, spokesman for the Turkish Foreign Ministry, told the U.S. broadcaster Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu has offered to host the U.N. Security Council's five permanent members, plus Germany, at the Oct. 1 meeting. He reportedly made the offer to host the talks while visiting Tehran, but Ozugergin said he couldn't confirm that the meeting would be in Turkey because Iran had yet to respond.

Western nations are concerned Iran's nuclear program is meant to produce a weapon while Tehran claims it is for civilian power generation only.

"The point of all this is to sit down with the Iranians and explain directly, face to face, the choice that they have," State Department spokesman Ian Kelly told CNN. "They can go down one path, which leads to integration with the international community, or they can continue down another path which leads to isolation."