China made clear on Monday it opposed the core of a Western UN resolution ordering Tehran to curb its nuclear program but would not use its veto power to kill the measure.
China's UN ambassador, Wang Guangya, spoke hours before his own foreign minister and those of Russia, Britain, France and Germany were to have dinner in New York with US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice. Iran is the main topic.
Russia and China, which have veto power in the 15-nation UN Security Council, fear too much pressure on Iran would be self-defeating or precipitate an oil crisis. Both worry the United States would use a resolution under Chapter 7 of the UN Charter to justify military action.
Moscow and Beijing want a resolution but oppose specifying Chapter 7, which is used routinely in dozens of Security Council resolutions for peacekeeping missions and other legally-binding actions.
The United States, France and Britain insist on Chapter 7. It allows for sanctions and even war, but a separate resolution would be required to invoke further steps of that nature.
"My position is clear, because Chapter 7 is about enforcement measures," Wang told reporters. "My understanding is that a resolution of the Security Council is itself legally binding, so all the parties have to implement Security Council resolutions."
Many international lawyers disagree and say the only way to make a resolution legally binding is to invoke Chapter 7.
France and Britain, authors of the US-backed draft the council is now discussing, said they were prepared to bring the measure to a vote this week, even without Russian or Chinese backing. But abstention by either nation would show disunity.
"We are not thinking about a veto. We are thinking about unifying the whole council," said Wang, whose country rarely casts vetoes.
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