China to attend foreign ministers' meeting on Iran

Beijing, May 7 : China's Foreign Minister Li Zhaoxing will attend a foreign ministers' meeting in New York tomorrow to discuss strategy on Iran, amid debate at the United Nations over how to curb Tehran's nuclear programmes.

The Foreign Ministry made the announcement on its Web site (www.fmprc.gov.cn), today in a one-line statement that gave no further details.

The meeting, at the invitation of US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, is also expected to include ministers from Britain, France, Russia and Germany and comes as France and Britain push for a vote on a draft UN Security Council resolution ordering Iran to end its nuclear research.

The Security Council has been bogged down over provisions in the draft that cite Iran as ''a threat to international peace and security'' and invoke Chapter 7 of the UN Charter which makes resolutions binding under international law.

China and Russia, both veto-wielding members of the council, have insisted the provisions be removed, fearing they could open the door to sanctions or even military action against Iran.

Iran says its atomic research is aimed at producing electricity but Western powers suspect its real goal is to build nuclear weapons.

Reuters