BEIJING (Sputnik) – Sanctions or threats to impose them never resolve disputes, which can be resolved only through dialogue, Chinese Foreign Spokesperson Lu Kang said Friday commenting on the re-imposition of US sanctions against Iran.
“China has always believed that imposing sanctions on any occasion, or threats to impose them, cannot resolve disputes. Only dialogue and negotiations can solve the problem,” Lu said.
He also stressed that Beijing had always opposed unilateral sanctions and extraterritorial jurisdiction.
On Tuesday, the first package of US sanctions against Iran, previously lifted under the Iran nuclear deal, was reinstated following the United States’ withdrawal from the 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), also known as the Iran nuclear deal. The sanctions target Iran’s acquisition of dollar bank notes, trade in gold and other metals, transactions related to the Iranian rial, as well as the other countries’ transactions and trade activities with Iran.
In May, US President Donald Trump announced that his country would exit the JCPOA, which stipulates the gradual lifting of the anti-Iran sanctions in exchange for Tehran maintaining the peaceful nature of its nuclear program. In addition, Trump decided to reinstate economic restrictions against Iran and also secondary sanctions.
After the US withdrawal, other parties to the agreement — China, France, Germany, Iran, Russia, the United Kingdom, and the European Union — have expressed their commitment to the accord.
Sourse: sputniknews.com
