China sending envoy to Iran for nuke issue
(AP)
Updated: 2006-02-23 21:07

China is sending an envoy to Iran to discuss how to resolve the standoff over Tehran's nuclear program, the Foreign Ministry announced Thursday.

Vice Foreign Minister Lu Guozeng will go to Tehran on Friday for a three-day visit, ministry spokesman Liu Jianchao said. He didn't say with which Iranian officials Lu would meet.

"They will exchange views on the nuclear issue," Liu said at a news briefing. "We will discuss how to resolve this issue ... properly through dialogue and consultation."

The announcement came after state media quoted Chinese Foreign Minister Li Zhaoxing as saying there was "still room" to resolve the dispute within the International Atomic Energy Agency.

The United States and other Western governments suspect that Iran's nuclear program is a cover for producing weapons, but Tehran says it is trying to develop nuclear energy.

The IAEA meets March 6 to discuss the standoff and could start a process leading to a review by the U.N. Security Council, which can impose sanctions on Iran.

"The days before the March 6 meeting of the IAEA are crucial," Li said Wednesday, according to the official Xinhua News Agency. It said he made the remark at a news conference with visiting German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier.

Xinhua didn't say whether Li expressed any view on whether the dispute should be referred to the Security Council.

The Chinese foreign minister "appealed to the international community to be calm, restrained and patient and show flexibility in creating necessary conditions for the resumption of nuclear negotiations between Europe and Iran," Xinhua said.