China has expressed hope that the toughest moves to date agreed
by the UN Security Council on the Iranian nuclear standoff would
result in the success of continuing diplomatic efforts and a
peaceful solution to the situation.
"China maintains its support for the international nuclear
non-proliferation regime and is opposed to any proliferation of
nuclear weapons," said Foreign Ministry spokesperson Liu Jianchao
in a statement yesterday.
Liu said China didn't wish to see any new turbulence in the
Middle East, urged the relevant parties to remain calm and
restrained and continue to push for an early resumption of
talks.
The 15-member Security Council on Monday adopted a resolution
demanding that Iran suspend all uranium enrichment and reprocessing
activities by the end of August or face possible sanctions. The
resolution was agreed by a vote of 14 to 1. Qatar, the only Arab
nation on the Security Council, was the negative vote. Liu vowed
that China would continue to play a constructive role in the
process.
Deputy Representative to the UN Liu Zhenmin told reporters after
the vote that the process of resolving Iran's nuclear issue was
complicated by the lack of trust among the major parties and said
the Security Council couldn't take sole charge of the issue.
"Dialogue and negotiation are the only way out," he said
according to Xinhua and emphasized that the International Atomic
Energy Agency (IAEA) should be the main mechanism for dealing with
the issue.
"The solution requires all-round diplomatic efforts and any
measures adopted by the Security Council should serve those
purposes," he said. If Teheran responded positively to a package of
incentives offered earlier by the Security Council's permanent
members plus Germany no further action would be taken by Security
Council, he added.??
Iran insists on its right to produce nuclear fuel, President
Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, said yesterday in response to the resolution.
"The Iranian people see taking advantage of technology to produce
nuclear fuel for peaceful purposes as their right," he told a crowd
in the northeastern town of Bojnurd.
Analysts say China voted for the resolution because it would
encourage further talks and go some way towards easing the tense
situation in the region.
Gong Shaopeng, an expert on Middle East issues with China
Foreign Affairs University, said China's view was to maintain and
strengthen the IAEA's authority and role and hope the Iranians took
the one-month opportunity now open to them.?
He said the vote's near unanimity, "has shown the consensus
reached by the international community on the Iranian nuclear
issue." Qatar, he added, was not against the terms of the UN
resolution but opposed to setting a deadline for Iran.
Gong said the current situation in the Middle East was indeed
very complicated but still under control. "If the relevant sides
can step up their efforts in negotiation and mediation those
problems can still be resolved in a short period of time," he
said.
(China Daily August 2, 2006)