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China welcomes Russian proposal on Iran
By Qin Jize (China Daily)
Updated: 2006-01-27 06:48
China welcomed a plan to enrich Iran's uranium on Russian territory Thursday,
saying the nation supports all kinds of diplomatic efforts to properly resolve
the Iran nuclear issue.
Chinese Foreign
Ministry spokesman Kong Quan. [Xinhua/file] |
"We believe the proposal could be a useful attempt to break the stalemate,"
Foreign Ministry spokesman Kong Quan said, "We hope all parties involved will
use their wisdom to provide new proposals and resume the talks."
The European Union and the United States have previously given backing to the
plan.
Kong added that China has received no "formal invitation" from Iran to take
part in the Russian's proposal.
Kong reiterated China's policy of negotiations on the Iran nuclear issue,
urging all the involved countries to take more practical diplomatic efforts to
end the global standoff.
Iran is facing a referral to the United Nations Security Council for possible
sanctions against it because Western nations are worried that it may seek to
build an atomic bomb.
Kong told reporters at the last regular press briefing that China preferred
diplomatic channels to other methods of resolving the issue.
Top Iranian nuclear
negotiator Ali Larijani speaks during a news conference in Beijing January
26, 2006. Iran is willing to show flexibility in solving Tehran's nuclear
standoff, but is not happy with threats of force to resolve the problem,
Larijani said on Thursday. [Reuters] |
China is a key player in the international effort to address concerns over
Iran's nuclear issue, as it is a permanent veto-wielding member of the UN
Security Council.
"All Non-Proliferation Treaty countries' rights to peacefully use nuclear
power should be respected, but we must emphasize that these countries should
also strictly abide by the relevant regulations," he said.
China is opposed to using sanctions or threatening sanctions, which always
complicate the issue, he said.
According to Kong, China has kept contacts within the UN Security Council and
other parties to push the process of a peaceful negotiation forward.
Top Iranian nuclear negotiator Ali Larijani, who arrived in Beijing Thursday
for a one-day visit, held talks with State Councillor Tang Jiaxuan and Foreign
Minister Li Zhaoxing.
During his talks with Chinese Foreign Minister Li Zhaoxing, they mainly
discussed the Iran nuclear issue and other related topics concerning the growth
of bilateral relations.
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