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Germany's Merkel urges China to use influence on Iran

Iran Materials 2 February 2012 11:32 (UTC +04:00)
German Chancellor Angela Merkel on Thursday urged China to use its influence to persuade Iran to give up its nuclear program.
Germany's Merkel urges China to use influence on Iran

German Chancellor Angela Merkel on Thursday urged China to use its influence to persuade Iran to give up its nuclear program, Reuters reported.

Merkel, in Beijing at the start of a three-day visit widely expected to also seek China's support for the ailing euro, said she had had "long discussions" with President Hu Jintao and Premier Wen Jiabao over Iran sanctions.

"If we talk about the European sanctions against Iran, the question is how China can make better use of its influence to make Iran understand that the world must not have another power with nuclear weapons," Merkel told reporters after a speech at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences.

She added that she hopes the U.N. Security Council can pass a unanimous resolution on the matter.

Merkel is expected to make the case for tighter sanctions on Iran, originally proposed by the U.S. and designed to prevent it from developing nuclear weapons.

The Islamic republic, China's third-largest source of foreign oil, says its nuclear program is for civilian use.

China is Iran's biggest crude oil customer, buying some 20 percent of its total exports. Last year, it bought 30 percent more Iranian oil at about 555,200 barrels per day, Chinese customs data showed.

But it has scaled back imports in the first two months of this year as the two sides haggle over terms for the 2012 contract.


Edited by: S. Isayev

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