WORLD / UN
Deadlocked Security Council puts off Iran meeting
(AFP)
Updated: 2006-03-22 09:59
UNITED NATIONS (AFP) - A deadlocked UN Security Council put off a
scheduled meeting to allow more time to narrow differences on a
Franco-British statement on the Iranian nuclear crisis, diplomats said.
"We asked that the consultations be postponed not in order to revise the
text but in order that we continue informal consultations that will take
place in different configurations," Britain's UN envoy Emyr Jones Parry
told reporters.
He said that he and his French counterpart, Jean-Marc de La Sabliere,
felt there was no point in amending their draft if an agreement was not
in sight.
"If there's no prospect for an agreed conclusion, we won't be amending
the text," Jones Parry said.
Earlier a Western diplomat who requested anonymity said the formal
council meeting was postponed to take into account Russian objections to
the Franco-British draft.
He added that no new date has been set for a formal meeting.
"The Russians want a more general text, and no reference to the Iranian
program being a threat to international peace and security, which could
imply that the council might have to resort to sanctions," the Western
diplomat said.
With Western countries suspecting Iran of seeking to acquire atomic arms,
the council is debating a response to Tehran's defiance to demands that
it halt uranium enrichment activities and open its doors to inspectors
from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).
Western powers see adoption of the Franco-British non-binding statement
by the 15-member council as the first step in a graduated response that
could ultimately lead to sanctions against Tehran.
But Russia and China, which have close economic and energy ties with
Tehran, oppose sanctions and insist on the IAEA retaining the lead role
in the issue.
Diplomats in Vienna said that if the council fails to agree on the
non-binding Franco-British text, the US delegation might push for a tough
UN resolution invoking possible sanctions under Chapter 7 of the UN
charter.
The aim would be to force Russia and China either to veto the resolution
or to abstain and thus allow it go through if it can get the required
nine votes.
Asked if a draft resolution was on the table, Jones Parry replied: "the
idea of anything is on the table if it produces a satisfactory outcome
and sends the right message to Tehran."
Iran denies claims that it is seeking nuclear weapons and insists that as
a signatory of the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty it has a right to
conduct uranium enrichment.
The Security Council had been due to review the Franco-British draft
Tuesday a day after a six-nation meeting in New York failed to yield
agreement on the text and on a broader strategy to deal with Tehran.
Another Western diplomat, who spoke on condition of anonymity, described
a six-nation gathering Monday as "difficult", largely because of Russian
and Chinese objections to the firm stance advocated by the Western powers.
That meeting brought together top officials from Britain, China, France,
Russia and the United States -- the council's five veto-wielding
permanent members -- and Germany, one of three European powers that have
been pursuing inconclusive nuclear talks with Tehran.
US ambassador John Bolton said that he expected a new formal session of
the full council to be convened "in the next couple of days".
Meanwhile US President George W. Bush warned Tuesday that a nuclear-armed
Iran "could blackmail the world." But he also reaffirmed that he wanted a
diplomatic solution and that his government would continue to let
Britain, France and Germany lead international talks with Iran.
Chinese ambassador Wang Guangya for his part called for more time for
diplomacy to work, while stressing that the Security Council needed to
take some action soon.
He reiterated his view that IAEA head Mohamed ElBaradei should submit a
report in "four to six weeks" on Iranian compliance with demands that it
suspend all uranium enrichment activities, as opposed to the 14 days
proposed in the Franco-British text, which IAEA officials consider
unrealistic.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said the Security Council should
"at this stage limit itself to supporting the efforts of the IAEA and
cooperating with it to clarify remaining questions," according to the
ITAR-TASS news agency.
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