Monday, December 25, 2006

China urges more talks on Iran's nuclear programme

By Xiao Ping,
WNS China Senior Correspondent


BEIJING - China, a veto-wielding member of the United Nations Security Council, wants more talks on Iran's nuclear programme, state media and the government said on Monday, after the UN voted in favour of sanctions. China reacted after the Security Council passed a resolution Saturday that mandated sanctions targeting Iran's nuclear and ballistic missile programmes over its refusal to halt uranium enrichment and reprocessing activities.

"We hope the UN resolution is carried out in an earnest fashion, but we also think sanctions are not the objective and cannot fundamentally resolve the issue," foreign ministry spokesman Liu Jianchao said in a statement. "China wants... to see a peaceful solution to the Iranian nuclear issue through talks," he said in the statement, posted on the ministry's website.

The state-controlled China Daily newspaper on Monday also supported further negotiations, arguing a peaceful solution was in the interest of all parties concerned. "It would save the issue (from) becoming a new source of instability from the Middle East," the paper said in an editorial. Following the decision at the UN Security Council, a defiant Iran vowed on Sunday to start work immediately on drastically expanding its capacity to enrich uranium.

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