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China sending envoy to Iran for nuke issue
(AP)
Updated: 2006-02-23 21:07 China is sending an envoy to Iran to discuss how
to resolve the standoff over Tehran's nuclear program, the Foreign Ministry
announced Thursday.
Vice Foreign Minister Lu Guozeng will go to Tehran on Friday for a three-day
visit, ministry spokesman Liu Jianchao said. He didn't say with which Iranian
officials Lu would meet.
"They will exchange views on the nuclear issue," Liu said at a news briefing.
"We will discuss how to resolve this issue ... properly through dialogue and
consultation."
The announcement came after state media quoted Chinese Foreign Minister Li
Zhaoxing as saying there was "still room" to resolve the dispute within the
International Atomic Energy Agency.
The United States and other Western governments suspect that Iran's nuclear
program is a cover for producing weapons, but Tehran says it is trying to
develop nuclear energy.
The IAEA meets March 6 to discuss the standoff and could start a process
leading to a review by the U.N. Security Council, which can impose sanctions on
Iran.
"The days before the March 6 meeting of the IAEA are crucial," Li said
Wednesday, according to the official Xinhua News Agency. It said he made the
remark at a news conference with visiting German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter
Steinmeier.
Xinhua didn't say whether Li expressed any view on whether the dispute should
be referred to the Security Council.
The Chinese foreign minister "appealed to the international community to be
calm, restrained and patient and show flexibility in creating necessary
conditions for the resumption of nuclear negotiations between Europe and Iran,"
Xinhua said.
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