Talk of unity but divisions show over Iran

BERLIN - The United States sought to ease Russian and Chinese fears of an over-zealous approach to curb Iran's nuclear ambitions but divisions over how to deal with Tehran were clearly evident.

In talks in Berlin that went into overtime with ministers from the permanent five members of the UN Security Council, plus Germany, the "big stick" of sanctions against Iran was a key theme but there was no consensus on such a threat.

While united that Iran must suspend its uranium enrichment efforts, senior US officials traveling with Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice conceded Russia and China were not yet on board with dangling the threat of sanctions against Iran.

"There was substantial support, I am not saying unanimous ... to have the option of moving toward sanctions at some time in the future," said a senior State Department official traveling with Rice, who later went to Liverpool after a brief stopover in Paris.

At a news conference with ministers from Britain, the United States, Germany and France as well as China's deputy foreign minister, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov made clear Moscow opposed sanctions.

"In principle Russia doesn't believe that sanctions could achieve the purposes of settlement of various issues. We believe that there must be a balanced approach," said Lavrov.

US officials said potential military action was not discussed but China and Russia stressed the need not to resort to violent means. Washington has said the threat of force is always on the table.

"This requires time, persistence, and wisdom. It can only be resolved through peaceful means," said Chinese Deputy Foreign Minister Dai Bingguo.

"The Chinese side feels that there has already been enough turmoil in the Middle East," he added, in a possible swipe at the US invasion of Iraq which China and Russia opposed.

The United States has called Iran a grave threat to security and peace but Russia said before calling any situation a threat more facts were needed, particularly in the Middle East.

"We prefer very strongly to base our specific actions on specific facts ... so far, they have not been provided," said Lavrov.

Even before the meeting, divisions were evident. It took three weeks to negotiate a UN "president's statement" finally agreed on Wednesday, demanding that Iran stop its enrichment activities and giving Tehran 30 days to respond.

Russia and China had resisted having language inserted that they feared could open the door to punitive measures.

Asked what the next steps could be against Iran, Rice said this depended on how Tehran reacted to the UN statement.

Whatever steps might follow, analysts predicted a long haul.

"I don't see why anyone thinks this is going to be resolved any time soon," said Jon Alterman of the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington. "The UN will be managing this issue for years," he said.

- REUTERS