China, Russia leaders reject force on Iran, N.Korea
RUSSIA: Visiting Chinese President Hu Jintao and Russian
leader Vladimir Putin called for peaceful solutions to the crises over
Iran and North Korea's nuclear programmes and pledged to stop an arms
race in space.
The two leaders, who hope to counter Washington's clout by promoting
internationally agreed solutions to world crises, said in a joint
declaration that they shared a common position on big global issues.
"I would like to emphasise with satisfaction that the positions of
Russia and China on all the issues discussed either coincide or are
similar," Putin said.
Hu, on his third visit to Russia, described Putin as "my good friend"
and spoke of the "warm atmosphere of trust" at their meeting,
underlining the growing friendliness between the two erstwhile Communist
rivals.
"We have agreed that strategic cooperation between China and Russia,
permanent members of the U.N. Security Council, has major importance for
international affairs in creating a favourable atmosphere, in making
international relations more democratic and ensuring global peace," Hu
added.
There was no immediate sign of major new energy deals between Russia,
the world's second biggest oil exporter, and resource-hungry China.
The leaders pledged to increase "bilateral, long-term strategic
cooperation" on energy but signed only a protocol to increase Russian
oil deliveries to China, something already promised in the past by
Moscow. Putin and Hu then presided over a ceremony in a Kremlin hall
formally opening the Year of China in Russia.
A joint Sino-Russian declaration said that the problem of Iran's
civilian nuclear programme, believed by Washington to be a cover for an
atomic weapon, "should be resolved exclusively in a peaceful way,
through negotiations".
The wording on North Korea was similar, with both sides aiming to
find "a full and all-encompassing solution to the nuclear problem of the
Korean peninsula through a peaceful, diplomatic way".
China and Russia have used the threat of their veto at the United
Nations as an instrument to blunt Western efforts to impose sanctions on
Iran and North Korea.
The two nations said they wanted to prevent an arms race in space and
underlined the importance of international agreements to prevent the
deployment of weapons in space. In an apparent rebuff to Washington's
efforts to build influence in the vast Central Asian region, Hu and
Putin pledged to "strengthen cooperation with Central Asian countries in
the political, trade and economic spheres, as well as in security
issues".
Moscow, Tuesday, Reuters. |