The stand-off over Iran’s nuclear ambitions should be resolved exclusively through peaceful means, Russian and Chinese leaders said in a resolution signed in Moscow on Monday.
”Russia and China stress that the Iranian nuclear problem should be solved exclusively though peaceful means and negotiations,” Chinese President Hu Jintao and Russian President Vladimir Putin said in a joint declaration signed during Hu’s visit to the Russian capital.
”Russia and China also urge Iran to undertake all necessary and constructive steps to carry out the appropriate resolutions of the United Nations Security Council and the IAEA,” said the declaration.
”(We) believe that Iran … has the right to explore peaceful nuclear energy while adhering to all its obligations under the Non-Proliferation Treaty.”
The United States and some European states suspect Iran of using its atomic power programme as a cover for attempts to build a nuclear weapon. Tehran says it has no such intention.
Russia and China each hold a veto in the Security Council and have resisted a U.S.-led push for much harsher sanctions against Iran. — Reuters