IAEA urged to handle Iranian nuclear issue objectively

BEIJING - China hopes the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) will deal with the Iranian nuclear issue in an objective and balanced manner, a spokesman said Wednesday.

"We are actively participating in the deliberation of the Iranian nuclear issue at meetings of the agency, and hope the agency will play a constructive role to promote the diplomatic effort to solve the issue," Foreign Ministry spokesman Hong Lei said at a regular news briefing.

He made the comment when asked to confirm whether a joint text by six world powers on the Iranian nuclear issue will be submitted as a resolution or a statement to this week's meeting of the governing board of the IAEA.

Media reports said the six world powers, which comprise of five permanent members of the UN Security Council (China, Russia, US, France and Great Britain) plus Germany, have agreed on the text expressing continued support for diplomatic efforts aimed at a peaceful resolution of the Iranian nuclear issue. They also support IAEA's effort to resolve the outstanding problems of the nuclear issue.

China has encouraged the IAEA and Iran to strengthen its dialogue and cooperation to restore the international community's confidence on the  peaceful nature of Iran's nuclear plan, Hong said.

The talks on the issue are at a crucial stage. Dialogue and cooperation is the only right path to resolve the issue. It is urgent for the six countries to hold a new round of talks with Iran as soon as possible, Hong said.

The six countries and Iran should properly handle disputes, listen to each other's concerns and make joint efforts to facilitate talks at an early date so they can progress, he said.