Iran-China Ties, Strategic: SNSC Deputy Secretary

Beijing, Jan 21, IRNA -- Iran has large-scale relations with China which include strategic ties, deputy secretary for the foreign policy and international affairs of Iran's Supreme National Security Council (SNSC) Ali Baqeri said on Friday. Baqeri made the remarks in an interview with IRNA after discussing the latest regional and international developments with Chinese Foreign Ministry undersecretary for international affairs. 'Iran and China relations are not limited to bilateral relations between the two countries and it involves strategic cooperation on regional and international issues,' the official added. Baqeri called his meetings with Russian and Chinese officials as positive, adding that both Moscow and Beijing are against policies which could raise tensions. 'China has respect for Iran's productive steps and praises Tehran's desire for constructive talks with other parts of the issue; Tehran and Beijing would continue talks till Iran and G5+1 resume talks,' he continued. Deputy Secretary for foreign policy and international affairs of Iran's Supreme National Security Council is to leave Beijing for Tehran on Saturday morning. Baqeri arrived in the Chinese capital Beijing on Friday evening local time. Deputy Secretary for the foreign policy and international affairs of Iran's Supreme National Security Council is scheduled to meet with a group of Chinese university professors, scholars, and lawmakers at the venue of Iranian Embassy in Beijing on Thursday night. Baqeri visited Moscow before departing for China. He met with Russian officials, including Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and discussed the resumption of talks between Iran and the 5+1 Group. Iran and the 5+1 Group (Britain, China, France, Russia, and the United States plus Germany) held two rounds of multifaceted talks in Geneva in December 2010 and in the Turkish city of Istanbul in January 2011. Commenting on the achievements of his visit to Moscow and meeting with Russian high-ranking officials, the diplomat said that he visited Moscow upon an invitation by the Russian Foreign Ministry and in view of the fact that the next round of talks between Iran and 5+1 Group is imminent. Parts of our talks with the Russian diplomats were about studying the latest developments pertaining to political aspects of Iran’s peaceful nuclear programs in international arena,” he added. Washington and its Western allies accuse Iran of trying to develop nuclear weapons under the guise of a civilian nuclear program, while they have never presented any compelling evidence to substantiate their allegations. Iran denies the charges and insists that its nuclear program is merely for peaceful purposes. Tehran stresses that the country has always pursued a civilian path to provide electrical power to the rising Iranian population, whose fossil fuel would eventually run dry. Despite the rules enshrined in the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) entitling every member state, including Iran, to the right of uranium enrichment, Tehran is now under four rounds of UN Security Council's sanctions for turning down West's calls to give up its right of uranium enrichment. Tehran has dismissed the West's demands as politically-motivated and illogical, stressing those sanctions and pressures merely consolidate Iranians' national resolve to continue the path./end