A top diplomat said yesterday that Russia's Feb. 16 talks with Iran would cover not only Moscow's offer to enrich Iranian uranium on Russian territory, but also a whole range of issues concerning the two countries, the ITAR-Tass news agency reported.
Moscow "is counting on conducting consultations with Iran on Feb. 16 on the proposed joint venture to enrich uranium," Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Kislyak was quoted as saying. "Not only the nuclear dossier, but also the whole complex of relations with Iran will be discussed at these consultations in Moscow."
Russia has been urging Tehran not to backpedal on its agreement to the Moscow meeting in spite of its threats to restart its own enrichment activities. Iran says it wants to make fuel through enrichment, but the activity can also generate the nuclear core of warheads.
Russia's proposal for joint enrichment "is intended to remove all the worries around its nuclear program," Kislyak was quoted as saying.
Meanwhile, China said yesterday the Iranian nuclear standoff could still be defused through negotiations without a showdown in the UN, and urged countries to intensify efforts for a diplomatic compromise.
China voted for an International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) resolution on Iran because it believed that decision would encourage further talks.
"The Iranian nuclear issue should be appropriately resolved through diplomatic negotiations," Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Kong Quan (
"We still hope that this kind of resolution will help promote diplomatic resolution of the Iranian nuclear issue within the framework of the IAEA."
Iran has told the IAEA to remove some surveillance equipment from its nuclear facilities by mid-February, a defiant response to an IAEA vote reporting Tehran to the UN Security Council.
The IAEA decision made on Saturday calls for its chief Mohamed ElBaradei to report to it by March 6 on Iran's response to demands that it suspend nuclear enrichment activities and improve cooperation with the UN nuclear watchdog.
ElBaradei may send his report to the Security Council after the IAEA meeting in early March.
But Kong said the resolution did not oblige the IAEA to refer Iran to the Council, and he urged all the sides to intensify diplomatic efforts and called for Iran to abide by the resolution.
"There is still room to resolve the issue through diplomatic negotiations," he said.
Before the IAEA vote, China repeatedly deflected calls from Western countries to refer Iran to the UN Security Council, instead urging Iran to settle the standoff through talks with Britain, France and Germany, known as the EU-3.
On Monday, China's ambassador to the UN, Wang Guangya (王光亞), also called for negotiated settlement between Iran and the European countries.
"China prefers to have the EU-3 continue the negotiations with Iranian's to find a long-term solution on this issue," he reportedly said.
LANDMARK CASE: ‘Every night we were dragged to US soldiers and sexually abused. Every week we were forced to undergo venereal disease tests,’ a victim said More than 100 South Korean women who were forced to work as prostitutes for US soldiers stationed in the country have filed a landmark lawsuit accusing Washington of abuse, their lawyers said yesterday. Historians and activists say tens of thousands of South Korean women worked for state-sanctioned brothels from the 1950s to 1980s, serving US troops stationed in country to protect the South from North Korea. In 2022, South Korea’s top court ruled that the government had illegally “established, managed and operated” such brothels for the US military, ordering it to pay about 120 plaintiffs compensation. Last week, 117 victims
China on Monday announced its first ever sanctions against an individual Japanese lawmaker, targeting China-born Hei Seki for “spreading fallacies” on issues such as Taiwan, Hong Kong and disputed islands, prompting a protest from Tokyo. Beijing has an ongoing spat with Tokyo over islands in the East China Sea claimed by both countries, and considers foreign criticism on sensitive political topics to be acts of interference. Seki, a naturalised Japanese citizen, “spread false information, colluded with Japanese anti-China forces, and wantonly attacked and smeared China”, foreign ministry spokesman Lin Jian told reporters on Monday. “For his own selfish interests, (Seki)
Argentine President Javier Milei on Sunday vowed to “accelerate” his libertarian reforms after a crushing defeat in Buenos Aires provincial elections. The 54-year-old economist has slashed public spending, dismissed tens of thousands of public employees and led a major deregulation drive since taking office in December 2023. He acknowledged his party’s “clear defeat” by the center-left Peronist movement in the elections to the legislature of Buenos Aires province, the country’s economic powerhouse. A deflated-sounding Milei admitted to unspecified “mistakes” which he vowed to “correct,” but said he would not be swayed “one millimeter” from his reform agenda. “We will deepen and accelerate it,” he
Japan yesterday heralded the coming-of-age of Japanese Prince Hisahito with an elaborate ceremony at the Imperial Palace, where a succession crisis is brewing. The nephew of Japanese Emperor Naruhito, Hisahito received a black silk-and-lacquer crown at the ceremony, which marks the beginning of his royal adult life. “Thank you very much for bestowing the crown today at the coming-of-age ceremony,” Hisahito said. “I will fulfill my duties, being aware of my responsibilities as an adult member of the imperial family.” Although the emperor has a daughter — Princess Aiko — the 23-year-old has been sidelined by the royal family’s male-only
RSS