China rules out new U.N. sanctions on Iran for now

Reuters
January 5, 2010

UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) – China’s U.N. ambassador on Tuesday dashed Western hopes for a swift agreement on a fourth round of U.N. sanctions against Iran over its nuclear program, saying the issue requires more “time and patience.”

[efoods]“This is not the right time or right moment for sanctions because the diplomatic efforts are still going on,” Chinese envoy Zhang Yesui told reporters.

He said senior foreign ministry officials from China, Russia, the United States, Britain, France and Germany would meet later this month to discuss Iran’s nuclear activities, which Western powers suspect are aimed at developing atomic weapons, not generating electricity as Tehran insists.

“The efforts aimed at diplomatic negotiations on the Iranian nuclear issue still need some time and patience,” said Zhang, whose country holds the rotating presidency of the U.N. Security Council this month.

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This article was posted: Tuesday, January 5, 2010 at 5:10 pm

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