China's Deputy UN Envoy Sun Lei: Security Council Resolution 2231 Has Expired; IAEA Should Stop Deliberating on Iran Nuclear Issue
NEW YORK — Sun Lei, China's deputy permanent representative to the United Nations, said on October 23 during the UN General Assembly's review of the "Annual Report of the International Atomic Energy Agency" that the IAEA should stop deliberating on the Iranian nuclear issue.
Sun said the IAEA should uphold an objective and impartial stance and strictly perform its duties in accordance with its mandate, helping the parties concerned meet each other halfway and resume dialogue and negotiations. The Iranian nuclear issue must ultimately be resolved properly through diplomatic means, he said, adding that resorting to force or sanctions-driven pressure would only sharpen contradictions. As a non-nuclear-weapon state party to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons, Iran should honour its commitment not to develop nuclear weapons, while its legitimate right to the peaceful use of nuclear energy should be respected.
He said UN Security Council Resolution 2231, which endorsed the comprehensive agreement on the Iranian nuclear issue, had expired and been terminated, and that the Security Council and the IAEA should stop deliberating on the Iranian nuclear issue, with the IAEA director general ceasing to submit related reports.
Sun also said the United States-United Kingdom-Australia nuclear submarine cooperation violates the purposes and objectives of the NPT, poses a serious nuclear proliferation risk, and presents a grave challenge to the treaty and the IAEA safeguards system. The international community should seek a solution acceptable to all parties through an open, transparent, inclusive and sustainable intergovernmental process on the basis of equality and mutual respect, he said.
Sun added that China has submitted a draft resolution on promoting international cooperation in the peaceful uses in the context of international security to the General Assembly's First Committee and hopes for support from all parties, and that China is ready to work with the IAEA and other member states toward a fair, reasonable, inclusive and universally beneficial global nuclear governance system.
(GSM, from CCTV News, October 23)
Source: GSM · USA
Source: GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 图：纽约联合国大会会议厅，资料图。摄影 Basil D Soufi，CC BY-SA 3.0。 / The UN General Assembly Hall in New York, file photo. Photo by Basil D Soufi, CC BY-SA 3.0.
