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)