The U.S., Russia and China have agreed on a new United Nations Security Council resolution on Iran, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said on Tuesday.
"Today, I am pleased to announce to this committee we have reached agreement on a strong draft with the cooperation of both Russia and China," Clinton said at hearings at the U.S. Senate on the ratification of the new START treaty.
She said the U.S. had been working with its "partners for several weeks on the draft of a new sanctions resolution on Iran," she said.
"We plan to circulate that draft resolution to the entire Security Council today," she continued.
The announcement came a day after the Iranian, Brazilian, and Turkish foreign ministers signed an agreement on the exchange of low-enriched uranium to fuel Tehran's scientific research reactor. An Iranian Foreign Ministry official representative said that Tehran had agreed to swap in Turkey most of its 3.5%-enriched uranium for 20%-enriched fuel.
"This announcement is as convincing an answer to the efforts undertaken by Tehran over the last few days as any we could provide," Clinton said, commenting on the agreement, before adding however that, "There are a number of unanswered questions regarding the announcement coming from Tehran."
"While we acknowledge the sincere efforts of both Turkey and Brazil to find a solution regarding Iran's standoff with the international community over its nuclear program, we are proceeding to rally the international community on behalf of a strong sanctions resolution that will in our view send an unmistakable message about what is expected from Iran," she said.
The Iran Six (France, Britain, Germany, the United States, Russia and China) began discussing on April 19 the text of a draft resolution to impose sanctions on the Islamic Republic.
A spokesman for EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton told AFP that the new nuclear fuel swap deal "does not answer all of the concerns" raised by Tehran's nuclear program, although it is a "move in the right direction."
WASHINGTON, May 18 (RIA Novosti)
