China calls for efforts to push dialogue, negotiation on Iran nuclear issue

China said Tuesday there was still room for diplomatic efforts in resolving the Iran nuclear issue and called on parties concerned to push the advancement of dialogue and negotiation on the issue.

"China has always maintained that dialogue and negotiation are the best ways to solve the Iran nuclear issue," Foreign Ministry spokesman Ma Zhaoxu said at a regular news briefing.

It was reported Friday U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton had said China was "under pressure" to agree to new sanctions on Iran.

In response to a question about Clinton's remarks, Ma said China's position on the Iran nuclear issue is consistent and clear.

He called on all parties to proceed on the issue with a long-term perspective and to adopt a flexible and pragmatic approach.

Under a draft deal brokered by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), most of Iran's existing low-grade enriched uranium will be shipped to Russia and France, where it would be processed into fuel rods with a purity of 20 percent. The higher-level enriched uranium will then be transported back to Iran.

Since Iran missed a year-end deadline to accept the deal, U.S. officials have been talking about exerting more "pressure" on Iran.

Source: Xinhua