BEIJING: President Xi Jinping told his Iranian counterpart Masoud Pezeshkian that China supports Iran’s right to civilian nuclear energy and opposes the use of force to resolve differences.
“The use of force is not the right way to resolve differences,“ Xi told Pezeshkian during talks in Beijing according to state broadcaster CCTV.
“Communication and dialogue are the right path to achieving lasting peace,“ he added.
China “respects Iran’s rights to peaceful use of nuclear energy” and seeks a solution to the Iranian nuclear issue “that takes into account the legitimate concerns of all parties”.
China, a close partner of Iran and its largest trade partner, opposes a move by France, Britain, and Germany that could reimpose sanctions on the Islamic Republic.
Those countries invoked the “snapback” mechanism on Thursday, initiating a 30-day process for reimposing sanctions on Iran.
That move came after weeks of warnings over Iran’s alleged breaches of the 2015 agreement with world powers to curb its nuclear programme.
Iran suspended its cooperation with the International Atomic Energy Agency after Israel launched a 12-day war with the country in June.
Israel sought to destroy Iran’s nuclear capability while the United States staged its own bombing raid during the war.
The Shanghai Cooperation Organisation warned against efforts to “reinterpret” the United Nations resolution endorsing the 2015 Iran nuclear deal.
SCO member states said “any attempts to misinterpret or arbitrarily reinterpret this resolution will undermine the authority of the Security Council” according to their summit declaration. – AFP
