Vice-foreign minister flies to Iran By Le Tian (China Daily) Updated: 2006-02-24 05:35
Vice-Foreign Minister Lu Guozeng is expected to fly to Teheran today for
"political consultations" with Iranian diplomats regarding the standoff over
their country's nuclear programme.
"During his three-day working visit to Iran, Lu will discuss with Iran's
foreign ministry officials ways to prevent the nuclear crisis from escalating,
given the current developments," ministry spokesman Liu Jianchao said yesterday
at a regular news briefing.
Both sides will also discuss the ties between them and other regional and
international issues of common concern, Liu said.
The Board of Governors of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) will
decide on March 6 whether Iran should be referred to the United Nations Security
Council over its nuclear programme, which, as Western countries suspect, is an
intention to build nuclear weapons.
China insists that the Iranian nuclear issue be resolved through diplomatic
channels.
Foreign Minister Li Zhaoxing said on Wednesday that there was still room for
diplomatic means to resolve the issue within the framework of the IAEA without
referring the matter to the Security Council.
"The days before the March 6 meeting of the IAEA are crucial," Li was quoted
by Xinhua News Agency as saying after meeting with German Foreign Minister
Frank-Walter Steinmeier in Beijing.
Li appealed to the international community to remain calm, restrained and
patient, and show flexibility in creating the conditions needed to resume the
nuclear negotiations between Europe and Iran.
Iran and Russia are discussing an offer to enrich uranium in Russia for
Iranian power plants, which is seen by some as the "last chance" to defuse the
row before Western governments seek sanctions.
At the press conference, Liu also told reporters that China and Japan have
agreed to start talks early next month on developing oil and gas resources in
disputed areas of the East China Sea one of the several sources of tension
between the two nations. He did not give an exact date.
Talks between Japanese Trade Minister Toshihiro Nikai
and his Chinese counterpart, Bo Xilai, on Wednesday in Beijing achieved a
"consensus" on problems of environment, energy, trade co-operation and two-way
investment.
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