Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi and his Iranian counterpart
Manouchehr Mottaki will discuss Teheran's nuclear program and other issues of
common concern today, Foreign Ministry spokesman Liu Jianchao said
yesterday.
The nuclear issue will definitely be on top of the agenda during
Yang's visit to Iran. But that is not the sole purpose of his trip,
Hua Liming, former Chinese ambassador to Iran, told China
Daily.
As a permanent member of the UN Security Council and a country
with close ties with Iran, China will try to persuade Iran to
cooperate with the international community, Hua said.
The European Union foreign policy chief, Javier Solana, and
Saeed Jalili, who replaced Ali Larijani as Iran's chief nuclear
negotiator last month, agreed on Sunday to hold a new round of
talks by the end of this month, Iranian news agencies have
said.
But after Larijiani was replaced, the talks have created more
doubts than they have raised hopes. The change of guard doesn't
bode well for a resolution of Iran's nuclear issue, Hua said,
because Larijani was known for being practical and cooperative with
the West.
The acceptance of Larijani's resignation itself means that the
Iranian government will probably walk away from his soft line, Hua
said.
But differences exist not only within the Iranian government,
but also in the White House, with US Secretary of State Condoleezza
Rice considering sanctions as a solution and Vice-President Dick
Cheney advocating a war strategy.
"Since Teheran refused to budge despite threats of more
sanctions, and as Russia, some European countries and China cannot
see where such sanctions could lead, the Bush administration is
facing increasing pressure from war campaigners such as Cheney,"
Hua said.
(China Daily November 13, 2007)
