China says war 'not a solution' to Iranian nuclear issue

ISTANBUL

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said that war is "not a solution" to the Iranian nuclear issue and that Israel's attacks on Iran "preemptive strikes apparently lack legitimacy."

Addressing a joint news conference along with the French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot in Paris, Wang said: "Iranian nuclear issue could have served as a model for resolving international disputes through dialogue and negotiation. However, it is now triggering a new round of the Middle East crisis."

China "regrets" the current situation, Wang said, according to a statement from the Chinese Foreign Ministry.

Wang stated that Beijing's stance on the issue is "clear and consistent," adding that China "attaches importance to the repeated public commitments made by Iran's top leader that Iran will not develop nuclear weapons."

The Chinese foreign minister called on the relevant parties to "speed up negotiations on a new international agreement to settle the Iranian nuclear issue and place Iran's nuclear activities completely under the strict supervision and protection of the International Atomic Energy Agency."

"The recent military conflict between Israel and Iran should not be repeated," Wang said.

The US "has set a negative precedent by openly bombing the nuclear facilities of a sovereign nation," he added.

Wang also brought up Palestine, saying that the true resolution of the Iranian nuclear issue "cannot evade the core of the Middle East problem, namely the Palestinian issue."

"The Palestinian issue must not be marginalized again, the legitimate aspirations of the Arab people should be fulfilled as soon as possible, and the just voice of the broader Islamic world must be heeded," Wang said.

Wang said that the two-state solution "remains the only realistic way to break the cycle of turmoil in the Middle East."