China urged Iran on Friday to be “flexible and pragmatic” in scheduled talks with U.N. nuclear inspectors who will press Tehran for a deal that would enable them to visit a military complex where they suspect atom bomb research has taken place, but Western diplomats are skeptical a breakthrough will be reached.
China’s President Hu Jintao called on Mahmoud Ahmadinejad to cooperate with the U.N. nuclear agency, as the two leaders held talks in Beijing ahead of a meeting next month of the so-called P5+1 group –the United States, Russia, China, Britain, France and Germany.
China’s President Hu Jintao called on Mahmoud Ahmadinejad to cooperate with the U.N. nuclear agency, as the two leaders held talks in Beijing ahead of a meeting next month of the so-called P5+1 group –the United States, Russia, China, Britain, France and Germany.
Western powers and Israel suspect Iran is trying to develop a bomb behind the veil of its civilian nuclear program, a charge denied by Tehran which says it is developing civilian atomic power.
The U.N.’s International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) will urge Iran in talks later Friday to allow it access to sites where Tehran is suspected of working on an atomic bomb, particularly a military base near the capital.
China hopes Iran can “take a flexible and pragmatic approach, have serious talks with all six related nations, and enhance dialogues and cooperation with the International Atomic Energy Agency so as to ensure the tensions can be eased through negotiations”, Xinhua quoted Hu as saying.
The two leaders met after China and Russia this week issued a joint statement opposing the use of force on Iran.
Differences remain on how the IAEA should conduct its probe, and the United States said this week it doubted whether Iran would give the U.N. agency the kind of access to sites, documents and officials it needs.
“I’m not optimistic,” Robert Wood, the acting U.S. envoy to the IAEA, told reporters on the sidelines of a meeting of the U.N. agency’s governing board. “I certainly hope that an agreement will be reached but I’m not certain Iran is ready.”
His skepticism was reinforced by defiant remarks by Tehran’s envoy to the IAEA, who accused the U.N. body on Wednesday of acting like a Western-manipulated spy service and said that Iran’s military activities were none of its business.
The U.N.’s International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) will urge Iran in talks later Friday to allow it access to sites where Tehran is suspected of working on an atomic bomb, particularly a military base near the capital.
China hopes Iran can “take a flexible and pragmatic approach, have serious talks with all six related nations, and enhance dialogues and cooperation with the International Atomic Energy Agency so as to ensure the tensions can be eased through negotiations”, Xinhua quoted Hu as saying.
The two leaders met after China and Russia this week issued a joint statement opposing the use of force on Iran.
Differences remain on how the IAEA should conduct its probe, and the United States said this week it doubted whether Iran would give the U.N. agency the kind of access to sites, documents and officials it needs.
“I’m not optimistic,” Robert Wood, the acting U.S. envoy to the IAEA, told reporters on the sidelines of a meeting of the U.N. agency’s governing board. “I certainly hope that an agreement will be reached but I’m not certain Iran is ready.”
His skepticism was reinforced by defiant remarks by Tehran’s envoy to the IAEA, who accused the U.N. body on Wednesday of acting like a Western-manipulated spy service and said that Iran’s military activities were none of its business.
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