China, Russia united on Iran

[Shammu]

China, Russia united on Iran
Tue Mar 21, 2006 8:30 AM ET6

 By Lindsay Beck

BEIJING (Reuters) - China and Russia are united in pushing for more diplomacy to resolve the Iranian nuclear issue, China said on Tuesday, a day after the two deflected Western moves to authorize U.N. Security Council threats against Iran.

After more than two weeks of discussions, the five veto-wielding members of the Security Council -- China, Russia, the United States, Britain and France -- have been unable to agree on a draft statement that tells Iran to stop enriching uranium.

"China and Russia have common views on how to resolve the Iranian nuclear issue," China's Foreign Ministry spokesman Qin Gang told a regular news conference.

"Our objectives are to solve the issue in a peaceful way through negotiations," he said, as Chinese President Hu Jintao and Russian President Vladimir Putin held talks in Beijing.

Iran insists it has the right to atomic research -- which it says is for peaceful purposes -- but the Western powers believe it is seeking the ability to make nuclear weapons.

Qin said China supported a Russian compromise proposal that would allow Iran to use nuclear fuel enriched in an internationally monitored plant on Russian soil, easing fears that Tehran could divert atomic material to develop weapons.

"Under current circumstances, Russia's proposal is a helpful way to break the impasse," Qin said. "We call on all parties concerned to step up their negotiations and demonstrate flexibility."

Both Russia and China are wary of action by the Security Council, which can impose sanctions, fearing threats might escalate and prompt Iran to cut off contact with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) in Vienna.

Envoys close to the talks on the draft statement said Russia, backed by China, was toughest on its provisions, objecting to its setting a two-week deadline for the IAEA to report whether Tehran has complied, saying the time limit is too short.

But underscoring the urgency to reach a resolution, U.S. President George W. Bush reiterated that Washington was ready to use military force against Iran if necessary.

"The threat from Iran is, of course, their stated objective to destroy our strong ally Israel," he said in a speech to the City Club of Cleveland.

"That's a threat, a serious threat. It's a threat to world peace... I made it clear, I'll make it clear again, that we will use military might to protect our ally, Israel."

Bush also stressed the desire for a united message on Iran from the Security Council "in order to say loud and clear to the Iranians this is unacceptable behavior".

The full 15-member council consults later on Tuesday.

Under a November 2004 agreement with Britain, France and Germany, negotiators for the European Union, Iran agreed to freeze uranium enrichment activities in return for economic and political rewards.

That deal broke down last year, and Iran resumed uranium conversion in August.

China, Russia united on Iran

[Shammu]

Russia and China promise energy cooperation
Tue Mar 21, 2006 8:27 AM ET6

 By Tom Miles

BEIJING (Reuters) - Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Hu Jintao agreed on Tuesday to deepen energy cooperation, as Russian gas giant Gazprom said it would look to meet some needs of oil and gas-hungry China.

A preliminary deal on new gas pipelines from Russia helped break the ice at a formal document-signing ceremony in Beijing, where earlier this month a top energy planner bluntly criticized Moscow for the lack of progress on agreeing to new supplies.

Putin, who has made energy security the theme of Russia's current presidency of the G8 group of industrialized nations, said in November that diversifying energy export routes was a top priority, with supplies to Asia of paramount importance.

Under Gazprom's plan, Russian gas will link to both west and east China, with first deliveries envisaged in around five years.

"This about diversifying supplies. Today we've defined the timeframe and volumes for Gazprom's entry on to the Chinese market. These are major volumes," Gazprom chief executive Alexei Miller said after a relaxed and at times jovial signing ceremony.

Miller said the two pipelines, which will skirt round landlocked Mongolia, would eventually supply 60-80 billion cubic meters of gas a year under the terms of a memorandum signed by Gazprom and CNPC, the Chinese oil and gas conglomerate.

Interfax news agency quoted a source in the Russian delegation as saying the pipelines would cost around $10 billion.

RUSSINA RESISTANCE

Before the meeting, which was guarded by starched soldiers with fixed bayonets, China had complained of Russia's resistance to let it invest in Russia's booming energy sector, with the biggest prize state-owned oil firm Rosneft.

Putin gave no signals about China's chances of owning part of Rosneft, but CNPC appeared to take a big step toward that goal with an agreement to set up a joint venture.

Rosneft president Sergei Bogdanchikov declined to comment but a CNPC spokesman and an industry source familiar with the matter said the two firms planned to build a refinery in China and search for oil in Russia together.

But the much promoted meeting between Putin and Hu produced less progress on Russia's plan for a big oil pipeline to the Pacific Ocean, which China is determined should have a southern branch bringing 600,000 barrels of oil a day to its industry.

China has been eyeing Russia's vast oil and gas reserves as its dependence on imports has ballooned in recent years, but it has been unable to pin its neighbor down.

Russian Energy Minister Viktor Khristenko said a feasibility study was needed first.

Putin and Hu also discussed the international standoff over Iran's nuclear plans, which Washington and its allies say are tilted to eventually making atomic weapons.

Moscow and Beijing have deflected Western moves to authorize U.N. Security Council threats against Iran and urged a negotiated solution. The two leaders agreed to continue seeking to defuse the dispute "by political and diplomatic means".

Russia is already a key player in China's own nuclear power program, and it may be looking for more deals. Russia's nuclear power chief, Sergei Kiriyenko, also traveling with Putin, plans to extend his trip to travel to the Tianwan plant which Russia is helping to build.

China has said Russia's continued involvement at Tianwan, in the eastern province of Jiangsu, depends on the strength of its work on the first two generating units, which are due to go on stream toward the end of this year.

China plans to build 27 nuclear plants in the next 15 years and Russia intends to tender for every project, Itar-Tass news agency reported after a briefing by Kiriyenko last week.

Russia, which plans 40 new nuclear plants on its own territory by 2030, also wants to offer re-processing facilities to developing countries, enabling them to gain nuclear power while removing material that could be used for making weapons.

Russia and China promise energy cooperation

My note; So of y'all don't know cause of your age but, China and Russia never got along even though both were communist nations. The one thing they did agree, was the United States, should be destroyed. But they couldn't figure out a way to do that, cause of M.A.D.

[Shammu]

Now, lets add another, of the communist  countries.

North Korea Touts First-Strike Capability

By JAE-SOON CHANG, Associated Press Writer Tue Mar 21, 2:42 PM ET

SEOUL, South Korea - North Korea suggested Tuesday it had the ability to launch a pre-emptive attack on the United States, according to the North's official news agency. A Foreign Ministry spokesman said the North had built atomic weapons to counter the U.S. nuclear threat.

"As we declared, our strong revolutionary might put in place all measures to counter possible U.S. pre-emptive strike," the spokesman said, according to the Korean Central News Agency. "Pre-emptive strike is not the monopoly of the United States."

The United States urged North Korea to return to international nuclear negotiations instead of making inflammatory statements. State Department spokesman Sean McCormack said the United States has no plans to invade or attack North Korea.

Last week, the communist country warned that it had the right to launch a pre-emptive strike, saying it would strengthen its war footing before joint South Korea-U.S. military exercises scheduled for this weekend.

The North's spokesman said it would be a "wise" step for the United States to cooperate on nuclear issues with North Korea in the same way it does with India.

Earlier this month, President Bush signed an accord in India that would open some of its atomic reactors to international inspections in exchange for U.S. nuclear know-how and atomic fuel.

The accord was reached even though New Delhi has not signed the international Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty. North Korea has withdrawn from the treaty and condemned the United States for giving India "preferential" treatment.

"If the U.S. is truly interested in finding a realistic way of resolving the Korean Peninsula nuclear issue, it would be wise for it to come out on the path of nuclear cooperation with us," the North Korean spokesman said.

The North's announcement that it has a nuclear arsenal risked escalating tensions in the prolonged standoff over its program and threatened the prospect of resuming six-nation talks on the dispute.

"We have built nuclear weapons for no other purpose than to counter U.S. nuclear threats," the Foreign Ministry spokesman said.

It is rare for North Korea to mention its nuclear capabilities in such an explicit manner. The communist state usually refers to its "nuclear deterrent force."

North Korea first declared last year that it has nuclear weapons, although the claim could not be confirmed independently. Experts believe the North has extracted enough plutonium from its main nuclear reactor for at least a half-dozen weapons.

Six-nation talks have been stalled since November over a dispute surrounding financial restrictions the United States imposed on North Korea for its alleged currency counterfeiting and money laundering. Those talks involve the two Koreas, the United States, China, Japan and Russia.

Pyongyang says it will not return to the negotiating table unless the restrictions are lifted. But Washington demands that the North come to the talks without preconditions, saying the two issues are separate.

The North's spokesman said his country had shown "maximum flexibility" in trying to resolve the financial dispute, proposing possible solutions during a meeting in New York earlier this month. The meeting produced no breakthrough.

"The Bush administration talks about six-party talks, but it actually is paying no attention to the talks," the spokesman said, according to KCNA.

McCormack said South Korea's new nuclear envoy, Chun Young-woo, will meet later this week with top State Department officials. No date has been set for a resumption of the nuclear talks, McCormack said.

The North Korean spokesman also disputed last week's U.S. national security report that, among other things, said North Korea posed a serious nuclear proliferation challenge.

"In a word, it is a robbery-like declaration of war," the spokesman said. "Through this document, the Bush administration declared to the world that it is a group of war fanatics."

North Korea Touts First-Strike Capability

My note; YUP, I am LOOKING UP for HIS RETURN!!