A Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman said in Beijing Tuesday that the relevant parties should take effective steps to resume peaceful negotiations on the Iranian nuclear issue as soon as possible.

China has always advocated an early and proper settlement of the Iranian nuclear issue through diplomatic negotiations within the framework of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), Qin Gang said.

Qin said China supports Iran and the European Union (EU) to find out a long-term solution to the issue through negotiations, which will be beneficial to the regional peace and stability, safeguarding the international non-proliferation mechanism, and conform to the fundamental interests of all parties involved.

Qin pointed out China abstained from voting for a resolution at an IAEA conference on Sept. 24 because it failed to strike a balance in reflecting the progress of IAEA's investigation over the nuclear issue in Iran and may get the issue beyond the framework of the agency.

He added the way the vote was conducted would not contribute to the unity of the IAEA.

Qin said the resolution should be designed to urge Iran to adopt more transparent measures to fully cooperate with the IAEA and clarify the unsettled problems and return to the negotiations.

There is still room remained for resolving the Iranian nuclear issue within the framework of IAEA and the involved parties should be patient and flexible in dealing with the matter, Qin said.

Qin said China is willing to play a positive role in solving the issue through peaceful dialogue and hoped Iran, the EU and relevant parties would take concrete steps to break the deadlock and resume peaceful negotiations.

Source: Xinhua