In China, IsraelPM Olmert eyes Iran nuke sanctions

Beijing, Jan 10: Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert will askChina today to press for sanctions against Iran if it flouts a UNSecurity Council resolution curbing trade in nuclear materials thatcould be used for bombs.

In talks with Prime Minister Wen Jiabao, Olmert -- who considersChina an old friend of the Jews, if not the Jewish state -- will arguethat a nuclear-armed Iran would imperil both Israel and stability in aregion that Beijing relies on for oil.

''Yes, we see Iran as an existential threat, but at this point intime it is as, and even more, important to emphasise the greater globalconcerns,'' a senior Olmert aide told Reuters.

Olmert's three-day China tour completes his visits to nations withpermanent seats on the Security Council, whose Resolution 1737 onDecember 23 gave Iran 60 days to comply with limits on its uraniumenrichment activities or risk possible sanctions.

But like fellow veto-wielder Russia, China has voiced a preferencefor pursuing negotiations with Tehran, which says its atomic ambitionsare peaceful. Beijing's approach has often been at odds with that ofthe United States and some European nations.

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has called for Israel to be''wiped off the map''. That stirred fear that Israel, assumed to havethe West Asia's only nuclear arms, could launch pre-emptive strikes ifit deems diplomacy has reached a dead end.

For now, the Olmert aide said, ''Israel hopes China and the restof the international community will stand firm on Iran's compliancewith the (Security Council) resolution''.

Iranian Negotiator

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Liu Jianchaosaid the Olmert visit was a chance to ''consolidate friendly ties''established with Israel in 1992. The sides also hope to bolsterbilateral trade, which currently stands at more than 3 billion dollarbut is dwarfed by China's consumption of Iranian and Arab oil.

''We can have an exchange of views on issues of common interestincluding the West Asia issue and the Iranian nuclear issue,'' Liu tolda regular news conference yesterday.

Olmert, who is also scheduled to meet President Hu Jintaotomorrow, is following hard on the heels of Iran's top nuclearnegotiator, Ali Larijani, who visited Beijing last week.

The Iranian news agency IRNA quoted Larijani as saying that Tehranremained committed to the Non-Proliferation Treaty, which assuressignatories the right to develop nuclear fuel for energy purposes butbans bomb-making.

''But if we were further threatened, our conditions too would be subject to alterations,'' Larijani said.

Any diplomatic gains that Olmert can claim in Beijing might helphis popularity at home, which has plummeted amid corruption scandals,the Lebanon war and deadlocked Palestinian talks.

Israeli television reported yesterday that Olmert could face apolice probe upon his return over suspicions of cronyism. He has deniedwrongdoing in a slew of other such allegations.

Israel has taken its time in reorienting itself toward China,which broke with the West last year by engaging with Hamas after themilitant Islamic group, which advocates the Jewish state's destruction,swept Palestinian legislative elections.

But Olmert, whose parents belonged to a Russian Jewish refugeecommunity that settled in northern China a century ago, has professed a''spiritual connection'' to the Asian superpower.

Reuters>