China urges restraint in solving Iran issue
(AP)
Updated: 2006-01-19 19:07

China again urged restraint on Thursday in the crisis over Iran's nuclear programme, and said it was waiting to see a draft resolution that seeks to haul the country before the U.N. Security Council for possible sanctions.

"Because we haven't yet seen the draft resolution, we can't yet determine the Chinese government stand," a Foreign Ministry spokesman told reporters.

"We believe that diplomatic negotiations to resolve this problem are still a good option that suits the interest of all parties. We hope all parties will exercise restraint and patience and appropriately resolve the Iran nuclear issue through peaceful means."

China is one of the permanent members of the Security Council that can wield a veto over any proposals. The others are the United States, France, Britain and Russia.