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UNITED NATIONS, Mar 28 (AP): The five veto-wielding members of the UN Security Council swapped new proposals for UN Security Council action on Iran's suspect nuclear programme, in efforts to reach a deal before their foreign ministers meet to discuss the issue later this week.
US Ambassador John Bolton said Monday he offered new ideas at a meeting that saw ambassadors from the five try to break a three-week deadlock over confronting Iran. Yet diplomats stressed their was still a lot of work to be done and his proposals were not hailed as a major breakthrough.
"There are all kinds of drafts and all kinds of amendments. I proposed some amendments, I proposed some compromises that will be reported back to capitals," Bolton said, adding later: "We're going to try and resolve it in the next day or two." Britain, France and the United States believe Iran is seeking a nuclear weapon, a claim it denies. They have proposed a council statement spelling out a number of demands, including that Iran stop enriching uranium, the material that can be used to make a nuclear bomb.
Russia and China have been steadfast in their demand that any statement simply reinforce the primacy of the U.N. nuclear watchdog, the International Atomic Energy Agency, in confronting Iran. They fear that even modest council action now could lead the powerful UN body to take tougher measures which they oppose later on - such as sanctions. U.S. officials have also warned that nothing has been ruled out, including the possibility of military action. "I think that the basic objective is the same, to maintain the authority of the international nonproliferation regime," China's Ambassador Wang Guangya said. "But I think that there are some differences over what is the best approach to achieve this." Wang said he hoped the council would strike a deal "in the next couple of days."
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