Agency :
China, Russia and Iran issued a joint statement on Friday, reaffirming that political and diplomatic engagement and dialogue remains the only viable and practical option for the Iranian nuclear issue after deputy foreign ministers of the three nations held a meeting in Beijing on Friday.
Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, also a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, met with the heads of delegations to the meeting and put forward China’s five-point proposal on the Iranian nuclear issue, including staying committed to peaceful settlement of disputes through political and diplomatic means, and opposing the use of force and illegal sanctions, reports Global Times.
Ma Zhaoxu, Chinese Vice Foreign Minister, told reporters after the meeting that the three sides emphasized the necessity of terminating all illegal unilateral sanctions. Relevant parties should work to eliminate the root causes of the current situation and abandon sanctions, pressure, and threats of the use of force.
We stress the importance of UN Security Council Resolution 2231 and its timeline, urging all relevant parties to refrain from actions that could escalate tensions and to jointly create a favorable atmosphere and conditions for diplomatic efforts, Ma said.
The trilateral meeting was held against the backdrop of the US withdrawal from the Iran nuclear deal in 2018 and the continued maximum pressure on Iran by the Trump administration.
Amid the US’ unilateral actions and extreme pressure, the original framework under the UN reached between Iran and other permanent members of the UN Security Council (UNSC) plus Germany has been unable to function effectively. Therefore, China, Russia, and Iran are exploring new mechanisms to prevent further deterioration of the Iranian nuclear issue and to seek a diplomatic resolution, according to experts.
Among the five-point proposal on the Iranian nuclear issue, China stays committed to balancing rights and responsibilities, and takes a holistic approach to the goals of nuclear non-proliferation and peaceful uses of nuclear energy, said Wang.
China stays committed?to?the framework of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) as the basis for new consensus. China hopes that all parties will work toward?the same direction and resume dialogue and negotiation as early as possible. The US should demonstrate political sincerity and return to talks at an early date, Wang said.
Wang noted that China stays committed to a step-by-step and reciprocal approach, and seeks consensus through consultation. History?has?proven that acting from a position of strength would not lead to the key to resolving difficult issues.
Upholding the principle of mutual respect is the only viable path to finding the greatest common ground that accommodates the legitimate concerns of all parties and?reaching a solution that meets the expectation of the international community, Wang said.
The trilateral meeting came days after Tehran spurned US “orders” to resume dialogue over the nuclear program, Reuters reported on Friday.
Last week, US President Donald Trump said he had sent a letter to Iran’s Supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei proposing nuclear talks, adding that “there are two ways Iran can be handled: militarily, or you make a deal,” according to Reuters.
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian responded that he would not negotiate with the US while being “threatened”, and Iran would not bow to US “orders” to talk, the media report said.
The Trump administration also downplayed the China-Russia-Iran meeting, Fox News said on Thursday while Trump suggested “perhaps Beijing, Moscow and Tehran will be having their own discussions on de-escalation.”
The Trump administration imposed a “maximum pressure” policy on Iran in February that includes efforts to drive its oil exports to zero in order to stop Tehran from obtaining a nuclear weapon and funding militant groups, Reuters said.
Liu Zhongmin, a professor from the Middle East Studies Institute of Shanghai International Studies University, told the Global Times on Friday that the latest China-Russia-Iran dialogue is currently just the beginning, noting that the meeting could be seen as part of damage-control measures, aimed at preventing the Iranian nuclear issue from escalating further.
The Iran nuclear deal was signed ten years ago, and the issue has once again reached a critical crossroads. There are essentially two approaches to resolving it, Sun Degang, director of the Center for Middle Eastern Studies at Fudan University, told the Global Times on Friday.
One approach is the US strategy, which relies on extreme pressure, as seen during the Trump administration following the US withdrawal from the agreement. This led Iran to accelerate its uranium enrichment process, increasing the risk of nuclear proliferation, Sun noted.
“However, another approach is the multilateral diplomatic resolution, which proved effective in the original Iran nuclear agreement a decade ago,” Sun said, noting that China played a key role in that process, where all parties engaged in dialogue, sought common ground while setting aside differences, and ultimately reached a consensus on the nuclear deal.
In response to a question on the impact of the meeting on the resumption of dialogue and negotiation and the prospect of a political and diplomatic resolution to the Iranian nuclear issue, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said on Friday that the Iranian nuclear issue is facing a serious situation and once again at a crossroads. The Beijing meeting is a useful effort by China, Russia and Iran in seeking to advance the settlement of the Iranian nuclear issue.
In the joint statement issued after the China-Russia-Iran meeting on Friday, the three countries agreed to continue their close consultation and cooperation in the future.
The three countries also exchanged views on regional and international issues of common interest, and agreed to maintain?and strengthen their coordination in international organizations and multilateral arrangements such as BRICS and Shanghai Cooperation Organization.?
On the Iranian nuclear issue, China stays committed to promoting cooperation through dialogue, and opposes pressing for intervention by the UNSC, said Chinese Foreign Minister Wang.
Under the current situation, hasty intervention by the UNSC?will not help build confidence or bridge differences?among the relevant parties. Initiating the?snapback mechanism would undo years of diplomatic efforts, and must be handled with caution, Wang said.
Iran’s foreign ministry on Thursday summoned the envoys of Britain, France and Germany over what it called a “misuse of the UNSC to hold a closed-door meeting,” Reuters reported citing Iranian state media.
The UNSC met behind closed doors on Wednesday over Tehran’s nuclear program. The meeting called by six of the council’s 15 members – the US, France, Greece, Panama, South Korea and Britain, came at Washington’s request, according to the report.
China’s envoy to the UN Fu Cong was quoted as saying ahead of the UNSC meeting in the media report that China still hopes that “we can seize the limited time we have before the termination date in October this year, in order to have a deal, a new deal so that the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, known as the Iran nuclear deal, can be maintained.
“Putting maximum pressure on a certain country is not going to achieve the goal,” Fu said, according to Reuters.
The US has made some very unrealistic demands, completely driven by its own interests, regarding global hotspot issues including the Iranian nuclear issue, which has led to the destruction of the original consensus, foundation, and mechanisms surrounding these already complex international hotspot issues, Liu noted.
“In this context, the international community faces the challenge of seeking new solutions and approaches, and must not allow the US’ unilateral actions to undermine all the consensus and mechanisms regarding international hotspot issues,” Liu said.
If the other parties, aside from the US, can maintain consensus, this will, in turn, exert some pressure on the US, Liu added.
