By Luke Baker
BUDAPEST (Reuters) - The European Union will turn down an offer from Iran to tour its nuclear facilities, EU foreign affairs chief Catherine Ashton said on Friday, but remains optimistic about talks with Iran later this month.
Iran has sent letters to a number of ambassadors to the International Atomic Energy Agency in Vienna, inviting them to visit two sites -- the Natanz uranium enrichment plant and the Arak heavy water complex -- in the coming weeks.
Diplomats from Britain, France, Germany and the United States were not invited. But Hungary, which holds the rotating presidency of the European Union until July, was invited, leaving the EU in a quandary over what to do.
"What I'll be saying is the role of the inspections of nuclear sites is for the IAEA and I do hope Iran will ensure that the IAEA is able to go and continue and fulfil its work," Ashton told Reuters after talks with Hungarian Foreign Minister Janos Martonyi, saying the invitation would be declined.
While the United States and the three EU countries most involved with putting pressure on Iran to suspend its uranium enrichment were not invited, Russia and China, who are also involved in sporadic nuclear talks with Iran, were.
The West suspects Iran's nuclear programme is directed at developing bombs. Tehran says it is for peaceful energy only.
Ashton said she had consulted with Russia and China before deciding that the invitation should be turned down.
"I obviously coordinated with the other members of the E3+3 who were invited. My view is that though this is not an invitation that I'm taking a negative view of, it's not our job, and looking at the sites and establishing what they are requires expertise," Ashton said, referring to IAEA inspectors.
Western diplomats have described Iran's invitation as an attempt to split the six powers -- the United States, Britain, France, Germany, Russia and China -- and weaken punitive sanctions against Tehran over its secretive activity.
Russia and China have tended to take a softer line on Iran. Both have yet to respond publicly to Tehran's invitation.
"GOODWILL GESTURE"
In an interview published before Ashton's comments, Iran's acting foreign minister, Ali Akbar Salehi, said the invitation was meant as a "goodwill gesture."
"We have invited the ambassadors of the European Union and Non-Aligned Movement (developing countries) entities ... to visit Iran's nuclear facilities so that the lies propagated by some non-benevolent countries regarding Iran's nuclear activities are shown," Salehi told the ISNA news agency.
Western diplomats had said on Wednesday that the EU, Russia and China should reject Iran's invitation. They said Moscow and Beijing were being actively discouraged from going on the tour as this could erode the united front of the five permanent U.N. Security Council members and Germany on Iran's nuclear dossier.
Ashton did not say whether she regarded Iran's move as an gambit to divide the six powers but said the invitation would not hinder nuclear talks she is involved in with Tehran.
"It is not a roadblock at all. We have the dates for the (next) talks, we begin on the evening of January 20 and have two days, or at least one and a half days, which is extremely positive."
The talks are scheduled to take place in Istanbul and will be attended by representatives of the six powers, she said.
"I'm looking forward to the talks with Iran, that's my job. The Iranians have been helpful in supplying the dates and making that work... We're working now on what we should do in terms of substance."
Other invitees for the tour included Egypt, Cuba, Venezuela, Brazil, Turkey, Algeria and the Arab League, diplomats said. Cuba and Venezuela are allies of Iran, while Turkey and Brazil have tried to mediate in Iran's standoff with big powers.
Australia, Canada and Japan, all allies of Western powers, were not invited. Iran's relations with the IAEA director, who is Japanese, have worsened since the leak of a U.S. diplomatic cable saying he shared the U.S. position on key Iran issues.
(Additional reporting by Hashem Kalantari in Tehran; editing by Mark Heinrich)
