China deals blow to Western efforts to punish Iran
Russia, which like China opposes further U.N. sanctions against Iran, added fuel to the fire by announcing on Friday that the U.N. nuclear watchdog would soon start inspecting and sealing atomic fuel bound for an Iranian reactor. 
The West fears Iran wants to develop atomic weapons but Iran denies this. Tehran says it wants only to generate electricity.
Political directors from Britain, France, Germany, the United States, Russia and China were due to meet on November 19 to assess reports about Tehran’s nuclear program from the United Nations and from EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana.
“I think it’s partly related to genuine travel difficulties, but also linked to resistance on the broader question of sanctions from that quarter,” a European diplomatic source said of China’s decision.
Russian state-owned nuclear fuel producer TVEL said inspectors from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) will begin preparatory work on November 26 until November 29 on a shipment of nuclear fuel bound for the Bushehr nuclear plant.
Some European diplomats say it may not be possible to persuade Russia and China — both permanent veto-wielding members of the Security Council like France, Britain and the United States — to support a third round.
As a result, France is pushing for the European Union to impose its own separate U.S.-style sanctions against Iran.
It appears that Russia and China are only compatible when it comes to protecting their interests with Iran. However, mixed signals about this odd couple warrant closer scrutiny. Both countries are definite about opposing western interference in places where they have material interest. This administration has done too much to push these giant countries together. Their differences are shrinking as the US becomes a bigger thorn in their security.
Sino-Russian split at regional summit
On November 2, the sixth annual meeting of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) council of heads of government began in Tashkent, Uzbekistan. The six member states include Kazakhastan, China, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan. India, Iran, Mongolia and Pakistan attended as observers and Afghanistan as a guest of the host country Uzbekistan.
Xinhua News Agency, the mouthpiece of the Chinese government, breathlessly reported: “In a friendly, pragmatic, and constructive atmosphere, delegations of the member states held in-depth discussions on a host of pressing issues, including deepening economic trade and cultural cooperation within the SCO as well as safeguarding the region’s peace, stability and security.”
Behind all the camaraderie, two underlying issues permeated the discussions: joint military cooperation and trade, most notably in energy. It is on these two issues that Russian and Chinese priorities diverge, with the Central Asian SCO members watching from the sidelines.
The more America behaves as a proprietary empire, countries will view us as a common menace. Those countries will put aside their differences to unite in a protective coalition of their own. As we see happening right now, China and Russia will stand to protect their investments and economic stability. America is creating enemies bigger than we are. Arrogance is not sustainable. Paybacks are hell …
August 17th, 2008 at 4:38 pm
[...] China deals blow to Western efforts to punish Iran 17-Nov-07 [...]