Agence France Presse – China expressed concern Thursday at Iran’s controversial resumption of its nuclear program and urged it to return to negotiations with the European Union.
"We express our concern…about the recent new development in the Iranian nuclear issue," said foreign ministry spokesman Kong Quan.
"We hope that the Iranian side can do more to help build mutual trust and promote the resumption of talks between Iran and the EU countries.
"We also hope all parties concerned can exercise restraint and seek a solution on the Iranian issue through dialogue. We firmly believe that this is in the interest of all parties concerned."
Iran broke the UN seals at its Natanz nuclear plant on Tuesday to resume research into uranium enrichment, prompting a strong reaction from world leaders who fear Tehran is trying to develop nuclear weapons.
Iran insists its program is only for civilian purposes.
The British, French and German foreign ministers were to discuss a response on Thursday.
The three European Union countries have been seeking a negotiated solution for two years. But both Britain and the United States have warned that Iran was now likely to be referred to the UN Security Council for possible sanctions.
Kong refused to comment on any potential Chinese support or veto on referring the issue to the council.
He would only reiterate China’s long-standing position that the issue should be resolved within the framework of the UN’s International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).
"This is a complicated matter and we hope we can resolve the issue within the IAEA framework through peaceful negotiation," Kong said.
"The objective for China is only one: that is, to properly solve the issue. And the best way, in our view, is the negotiations between Iran and the three European countries."
Beijing urged Tehran to resume talks with the three European nations when Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Mehdi Safari met Chinese Foreign Minister Li Zhaoxing in Beijing on Monday, he said.
Kong said China was maintaining close contact with all parties concerned, especially Iran and the three European countries.
The United States said Wednesday the row over Iran’s suspected nuclear arms program was quickly coming to a head and was increasingly likely to end up before the Security Council.
Vice President Dick Cheney said referral to the council would be the probable next step after Iran announced a resumption of nuclear research.
"What would be probably the number one item on the agenda would be the resolution that could be enforced by sanctions, were they (the Iranians) to fail to comply with it," Cheney told Fox News radio.
