China today insisted there is still room for talks to resolve the standoff over Iran's nuclear program.
The comments by Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Qin Gang came after Russian President Dmitry Medvedev said
Moscow is ready to consider new sanctions against Iran for its refusal to comply with international demands to halt uranium enrichment.
Western nations suspect Iran is enriching uranium to produce weapons. Iran denies this, saying its nuclear program is entirely peaceful.
China has steadfastly refused to agree to new sanctions against Iran.
Russia has also been reluctant, but on March 1 Medvedev said that while he hoped they would be avoided, Russia was ready to consider introducing sanctions if negotiations fail.
Iran is already under three sets of UN sanctions over its nuclear program. U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has said she hoped to see a new resolution on Iran to be up for debate in the Security Council within the "next several months."
compiled from agency reports