Washington, April 13: China said Tuesday sanctions were not the answer to the Iranian atomic standoff, denting US President Barack Obama’s hopes of sealing a deal to punish Tehran as he hosted a summit on nuclear arms.
Obama was expected to urge world leaders to harden their resolve to lock down nuclear material on the second day of a 47-nation summit in Washington.
However the conference threatened to be overshadowed by growing tension on Iran.
The two-day gathering saw Obama meet Monday with Chinese President Hu Jintao and others in consultations he described as “impressive”, buoyed by Ukraine’s renouncement of its bomb-grade uranium.
“I think it’s an indication of how deeply concerned everybody should be with the possibilities of nuclear traffic,” Obama told reporters.
A top White House official said Obama and Hu agreed their delegations would work together at the United Nations on a push to impose sanctions against Iran.
“They are prepared to work with us,” said Jeff Bader, Obama’s top official responsible for East Asia on the National Security Council.
“The two presidents agreed the two delegations should work together on sanctions.”
However China, a veto-wielding member of the Security Council, undercut hopes for a consensus when it said sanctions were not a solution.
“China always believes that dialog and negotiation are the best way out for the issue. Pressure and sanctions cannot fundamentally solve it,” foreign ministry spokeswoman Jiang Yu told reporters.
Jiang said China backs a “dual-track strategy” — continued dialog with Tehran while considering the possibility of sanctions if that fails to halt sensitive nuclear work.
Iran also denied any suggestion that China was now backing the US stance.
“We have a different understanding than yours of the comments made after the meeting of US and Chinese officials,” foreign ministry spokesman Ramin Mehmanparast said in Tehran when asked to react to US claims of a breakthrough.
Mehmanparast said foreign ministers from 15 countries would take part in a two-day nuclear disarmament conference to be held in Tehran on April 17 and 18.
Russian President Dmitry Medvedev told US television that sanctions on Iranian energy products preferred by some members of Congress could cause a humanitarian disaster.
Iran’s President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was not attending the summit, nor was Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu who dropped plans to attend, reportedly because of concern that states planned to press for Israel to open its own nuclear facilities to international inspection.
Chinese President Hu Jintao stressed the need to continue a dialogue with Iran over its suspect nuclear program when he met Monday with Obama, a Chinese official said.
“China hopes that various parties will continue to step up diplomatic efforts and actively seek effective ways to resolve the Iranian nuclear issue through dialogue and negotiations,” said Ma Zhaoxu, spokesman for the Chinese delegation.
But a German source claimed that China is “more open” to sanctions against Iran.
“The German delegation has won the impression that China is now more open for sanctions against Iran,” said a German diplomatic source.
US to help China if Iran cuts off oil: report
Meanwhile, the New York Times reported Tuesday that Obama vowed to help keep fuel flowing to China if Iran cuts off supplies in retaliation for joining a drive for UN sanctions.
Iran is a key supplier of oil to Beijing.
Obama assured Hu that he was “sensitive to China’s energy needs,” the Times said, adding that the US administration had already sounded out other oil producers to help reassure Beijing that there would be no drop in supply.
White House advisor on Iran Dennis Ross travelled to Saudia Arabia last year to seek a pledge that it would step in to help China if needed, the paper said.
Iran was the third-largest crude oil supplier to China last year after Saudi Arabia and Angola, with shipments reaching 23.15 million tons.
“We’ll look for ways to make sure that if there are sanctions they won’t be negatively affected,” a senior White House official told the Times.
The paper also reported that the US president had laid out details of a proposed Security Council sanctions package to Hu — the fourth that would be imposed on Tehran over its suspect enrichment program.
The measures would include denying Iran access to international credit, choking off foreign investment in its energy sector and slapping restrictions on companies owned by the Revolutionary Guards, the paper said.
“Until two weeks ago the Chinese would not discuss a sanctions resolution at all,” the official added.
—Agencies