A new round of talks started Saturday in Istanbul between Iran and the group of 7, regarding the controversial Iranian nuclear program.

EU high representative for foreign policy Catherine Ashton has commented that the talks have started in a "positive atmosphere," report agencies.

The talks include representatives of the EU, USA, France, UK, Russia, China and Germany, while Iran is represented by chief nuclear negotiator Saeed Jalili.

Western countries have called on Iran to limit uranium enriching, while Iranian authorities have seen no need to do since they claim their program is entirely peaceful.

One of the goals of the talks is to convince Iran to let in more International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) observers.

Iranian Minister of Foreign Affairs Ali Akbar Salehi has called for "an open and serious" approach to the talks, so that progress can be achieved.

Meanwhile, Turkish Energy Minister Taner Yildiz announced that unlike a number of European countries and the US, Turkey is not planning on cutting down its energy ties with Iran, and will continue to import oil and natural gas from its neigbhor.

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