China, Russia on road to abandoning Iran

[Dover]

China, Russia on road to abandoning Iran

China and Russia have agreed to UNSC Resolution 1737. Though watered down, it still sends a strong signal to Iran that its friends are not completely against joining hands with Western "devils."

Commentary by P R Kumaraswamy for ISN Security Watch (10/01/07)

The unanimous United Nations Security Council (UNSC) Resolution 1737 clearly puts Iran on the dock. Outwardly, it merely seeks to restrict Iran’s ability to trade in sensitive nuclear materials and to freeze the assets of 22 Iranian officials and institutions linked to its nuclear and missile programs. However, the willingness of friendly countries such as China and Russia to abandon their erstwhile hesitancy and endorse limited sanctions against Iran should be seen as a small but decisive victory for the beleaguered Bush administration.

The vote should also be an eye opener for those who have periodically stressed and hoped that China would adopt an independent policy vis-à-vis the US on Iran. While not ready to join the Western chorus against Tehran, Beijing is also not willing to embrace the ayatollahs’ nuclear ambitions.

For quite some time, it was clear that China was not prepared to accept a nuclear Iran. Its refusal to endorse US demands for punitive sanctions was coupled by its determination that Iran should peacefully resolve its dispute with the UN’s nuclear watchdog, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). Partly due to its past involvement in missile and nuclear proliferation, Beijing has been extremely weary of another nuclear power in its neighborhood...cont'd

http://www.isn.ethz.ch/news/sw/details.cfm?ID=17098

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Aide: PM asks China's President to keep up pressure on Iran

By Aluf Benn, Haaretz Correspondent, and Reuters

Prime Minister Ehud Olmert on Thursday met with Chinese President Hu in Beijing to argue Iran's nuclear plans could destabilize the Middle East and urge China to continue pressuring Iran.

China closed ranks with Western powers last month in a United Nations Security Council resolution imposing sanctions on Tehran that could be stepped up if Iran ignores a 60-day deadline to stop enriching uranium, a process that could be used to make nuclear warheads.

The prime minister's aides said that in Olmert's meeting with Hu he hoped to hear a Chinese pledge to keep up pressure on Iran, which insists its atomic ambitions are peaceful but whose virulent rhetoric against Israel has raised war fears abroad.

"This summit is the finale, and judging by what we've heard so far, we're confident," a senior aide told Reuters...cont'd

http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/812157.html