BEIJING, June 8 (Xinhua) -- China on Thursday called for positive response
to the proposals agreed by the five U.N. Security Council permanent members and
Germany on solution to Iran's nuclear issue.
"We hope the proposals will receive positive response from all the parties
concerned so that negotiations will be resumed soon," Foreign Ministry spokesman
Liu Jianchao told a news briefing, describing the proposals as an "important
foundation" for the issue's solution.
Meanwhile, Liu confirmed at the briefing that Iran's President Mahmud
Ahmadinejad will come to China to attend the Shanghai Cooperation Organization
(SCO) summit slated for June 15 in Shanghai.
Iran, together with Mongolia, Pakistan and India, are SCO observers.
Liu said Hu will hold bilateral meetings with the presidents of the SCO member
states and observers on the sidelines of the summit, including
Ahmadinejad.
The spokesman said China had discussed Iran's nuclear issue with the
country in the past and will continue to do so in the future to improve mutual
understanding.
"China will continue to make positive efforts to help peacefully solve the Iran
nuclear issue through negotiations," Liu said.
European Union (EU) foreign policy chief Javier Solana went to Tehran on Monday to
present to Iran a package of incentives, which was agreed last week among
the five U.N. Security Council permanent members, Britain, China, France, Russia
and the United States, plus Germany, in exchange for Iran's suspension of uranium
enrichment.
On Wednesday evening, Chinese Foreign Minister Li Zhaoxing discussed the
Iran nuclear issue with EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana over phone.
The Foreign Ministry said Solana briefed Li on his visit to Iran and the
two agreed to maintain close contact.
Details of the proposals are unknown, but EU diplomats said they included a
light-water nuclear reactor and a foreign supply of atomic fuel for Iran, as
well as an offer to suspend sanctions against Iran in the UN Security Council.
The proposals also carry penalties that can be applied by the United Nations
Security Council if Tehran does not cooperate, said the diplomats,
according to earlier reports. Enditem