The Hindu : International : Russia, China urged to get tough with Iran

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Tuesday, Jan 31, 2006

International

International

Russia, China urged to get tough with Iran

Hasan Suroor

IAEA meeting on Thursday to decide on U.N. referral

LONDON: European leaders on Monday stepped up pressure on Russia and China to agree to a tough line on Iran ahead of a crucial meeting of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) to be held in Vienna on Thursday to decide whether or not to refer Teheran to the U.N. Security Council over its controversial nuclear programme.

Representatives of the five permanent members of the U.N. Security Council— Britain, France, US, Russia and China — and Germany were to meet here late in the evening to press Moscow and Beijing to back the U.S.-European call for referring Iran to the UN.

The U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, who was in London, was also expected to attend the meeting, being held on the sidelines of an international conference on Afghanistan. Although both Russia and China share western concerns over Iran's nuclear plans they favour a more conciliatory approach to resolve the issue and have suggested that Iran be given more time to respond to the calls for a compromise.

In a parallel move, officials from three European Union members— Britain, France and Germany— met Iranian diplomats in Brussels in what was billed as a "last-ditch'' effort to resolve the controversy.

The BBC said that it was Iran which had requested the meeting with the three E.U. powers in the hope of "averting moves to refer it to the U.N. Security Council''. Observers said that if no international consensus was reached, the Security Council might be simply informed about Iran's "non-compliance'' with nuclear safeguards.

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