Tuesday, March 21, 2006

Russia Blocks Iran Agreement at UN

Russia Blocks Iran Agreement at UN
Reuters
UNITED NATIONS --

Russia, backed by China, has blocked agreement on a UN Security Council statement aimed at quashing Iran's nuclear ambitions despite a ministerial meeting on Tehran's atomic programs, diplomats said.

Senior Foreign Ministry officials from Germany and the five veto-holding Security Council members -- the United States, Britain, France, Russia and China -- met for more than four hours Monday to exchange information on how to handle Iran.

Their UN ambassadors joined them for discussions on a draft statement that the Security Council has been unable to issue for nearly two weeks and that tells Iran to stop uranium-enrichment efforts the West believes are a cover for bomb making.

Still, U.S. Undersecretary of State Nicholas Burns told reporters after the meeting, 'We remain convinced that we will see a presidential statement. It just may take a couple more days.'


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