| GEO World | | China warns Iran sanctions will derail diplomacy | Updated at: 1535 PST, Thursday, February 04, 2010
PARIS: Chinese Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi warned Thursday that threatening more sanctions against Iran will derail diplomatic efforts to resolve the dispute over Tehran's nuclear programme.
"This talk of sanctions at this moment will complicate the situation and stand in the way of finding a diplomatic solution," Yang told a gathering at a French think-tank.
China, a member of the UN Security Council, has called for more dialogue with Tehran, clashing with France and the United States, which are seeking to move toward sanctions.
Yang was due to meet President Nicolas Sarkozy later Thursday for talks that were expected to touch on calls for tightening sanctions on Iran for its refusal to stop enriching uranium.
The United States and its Western allies fear Iran is using an uranium enrichment drive to to secretly develop fissile material for nuclear weapons.
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