China says room for diplomatic solution on Iran

Beijing, Mar 30: China said today there was still room for a diplomatic solution to Iran's nuclear stand-off with the West and that it hoped a U N statement would help strengthen the International Atomic Energy Agency.

Qin Gang, spokesman for China's Foreign Ministry, made the comments after China on Wednesday endorsed a U.N. Security Council statement demanding that Iran suspend uranium enrichment work but avoiding specifics about what may happen if Tehran refuses.

''There's still room for resolving the Iran nuclear issue through diplomatic negotiations and the international community shouldn't abandon these efforts,'' Qin said.

Moscow and Beijing have both been reluctant to support moves from the other permanent members of the Security Council -- the United States, France and Britain -- to back up the nuclear suspension demand with sanctions, calling instead for continued negotiations.

REUTERS