Beijing, Oct 23: China today said it was not in favour of referring the Iranian nuclear issue to the United Nations Security Council and wanted the matter to be solved within the framework of the International Atomic Energy Agency, a senior foreign ministry official said today.
"The Iran nuclear issue should be resolved within the framework of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) instead of being referred to the United Nations Security Council," Chinese foreign ministry spokeswoman Zhang Qiyue said here.
Disclosing that Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Gulam Ali Khoshroo visited Beijing yesterday to brief China about Iran's stand on the nuclear issue, Zhang said China hopes that the issue could be resolved completely through consultations between all parties. Khoshroo met with Chinese Assistant Foreign Minister Lu Guozeng and explained Iran's decision on the nuclear issue, she said.
China is one of the five permanent members of the UNSC. Zhang said China has noted Iran's joint statement Tuesday with the Foreign Ministers of Britain, France and Germany, announcing that it would strengthen cooperation with the IAEA, and sign and pass the additional protocol to the safeguard agreement with the IAEA and to halt its uranium enrichment programme.
"China always hoped Iran would completely cooperate with the IAEA, to make Iran's nuclear activity transparent to the IAEA and sign and pass the additional protocol to the safeguard agreement with the IAEA," Zhang said. Bureau Report