Ahmadinejad thanks Iraq for hosting Iran-P5+1 talks

Iran's President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has expressed gratitude to Iraqi officials for hosting the latest round of talks between Tehran and the six major world powers. In separate letters to Iraqi President Jalal Talabani and Premier Nouri al- Maliki on Saturday, Ahmadinejad expressed gratitude for hosting the talks between Iran and the P5+1 (Britain, China, France, Russia, and the United States plus Germany). Ahmadinejad added that with its democratically-elected government and officials, Iraq has an important position in the region and the world. Iran and the six major world powers wrapped up their meeting in Baghdad on May 24 after two days of negotiations. The Iranian delegation was headed by Secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council Saeed Jalili and the P5+1 delegations were headed by EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton. Both sides agreed to hold another round of talks in Moscow on June 18 and 19. Tehran and the P5+1 have already held three rounds of talks, one in Geneva in December 2010, and two in Istanbul in January 2011 and in April 2012.