China urged 'cool-head' on Iran nuke dispute
(AP)
Updated: 2006-04-14 16:44
China urged other governments to stay cool-headed in their handling of the
Iranian nuclear dispute as Beijing dispatched an envoy to Tehran to discuss the
issue.
Assistant Foreign Minister Cui Tiankai was scheduled to arrive in Iran on
Friday. He is to go later to Russia.
"We hope all parties will adopt a cool-headed approach," Chinese Vice Foreign
Minister Yang Jiechi said at a news conference. "Dialogue is better than
confrontation. We should work together toward this end."
Yang was responding to a question about whether Chinese President Hu Jintao
would raise the Iranian and North Korean nuclear issues in talks with U.S.
President George W. Bush to be held in Washington.
Yang said the leaders would talk about international issues of common
concern.
"Obviously the question of non-proliferation is an important subject," he
said.
Iran says its uranium enrichment is for power-generating purposes, while the
West says it is intended for nuclear weapons.
The U.N. Security Council has given Iran until April 28 to cease enrichment
of uranium. Iran has rejected the demand and announced Tuesday that, for the
first time, it had enriched uranium with 164 centrifuges, a step toward
large-scale production.
China responded by expressing strong concern over Iran's announcement and
called on Tehran to suspend enrichment.
Both China and Russia oppose punitive measures against Iran.
The United States and Britain say that if Iran does not comply with the
Security Council's demand to stop enrichment by April 28, they will seek a
resolution that would make the demand compulsory
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