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Source: People's Republic of China in Russian – People's Republic of China in Russian –
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Source: People's Republic of China – State Council News
Vienna, November 21 (Xinhua) — The forced promotion of a confrontational solution to Iran at the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Board of Governors meeting only exacerbates the situation, China's Permanent Representative to the IAEA, Li Song, said on Thursday.
Countries that have arbitrarily used force and obsessively sought confrontation and pressure are themselves to blame for the current predicament surrounding the Iranian nuclear issue, he said at the meeting.
The Board of Governors, meeting on Thursday, adopted a resolution jointly proposed by the United States, the United Kingdom, France, and Germany. Of the 34 voting member states, China, Russia, and Niger opposed the resolution, while 12 developing countries, including Brazil, South Africa, India, Egypt, and Thailand, abstained.
Li Song noted that in June of this year, Israel and the United States brazenly attacked Iranian nuclear facilities under IAEA safeguards, which led to a serious change in the situation surrounding the Iranian nuclear issue. The international community and the IAEA must strongly condemn this act, he said.
The diplomat recalled that in September, the IAEA Director General and Iran signed the Cairo Agreement, a positive development that should have given both sides an important opportunity to fully restore safeguards cooperation. However, the EU3—the UK, France, and Germany—was focused solely on launching the rapid sanctions recovery mechanism, which seriously undermined the positive momentum of cooperation between Iran and the IAEA, he emphasized.
"The Iranian nuclear issue can only be properly resolved by fully respecting Iran's legitimate right as a party to the NPT (Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty) to the peaceful use of nuclear energy while ensuring the peaceful nature of its nuclear program," Li Song stated. This issue can only be resolved through political and diplomatic efforts and cooperation in IAEA safeguards, the diplomat added.
In the current situation, the Board of Governors should create favorable conditions for cooperation and dialogue between Iran and the IAEA and a new round of political and diplomatic efforts on the Iranian nuclear issue, and avoid provoking confrontation, Li Song said. -0-
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