Turkey's FM to Brief EU Ministers on Iran, Syria

EU foreign ministers meeting later this month to decide on new sanctions against Iran over its nuclear drive will be briefed by Turkey's Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu, EU sources said Wednesday.

At the talks on January 23, Davutoglu will inform the European Union's 27 ministers about the substance of his trip to Iran earlier this month, the sources said.

The Turkish minister will also take part in discussions on events in Syria as well as his country's view on the aftermath of the Arab Spring protests.

Denmark, which currently holds the rotating EU presidency, said earlier it was confident that tough European sanctions against Iran, targeting not only its oil sector but also its central bank, would be decided on later this month.

"We'll go further both on oil sanctions and on sanctions against the financial structures," said Danish Foreign Minister Villy Soevndal.

The EU decided in principle at the beginning of the month on introducing an oil embargo against Iran, but numerous details remain unresolved.

The EU is collectively the second-biggest destination for Iranian oil exports after China, taking in some 450,000 barrels per day.

But countries most dependent on Iranian oil, such as Greece, Italy and Spain, are lobbying for a delay in the start of sanctions until alternative oil sources can be found.