remarks on iran from joint press briEFING BY Press secretary robert gibbs, AMBASSADOR TO CHINA JON HUNTSMAN,
SENIOR DIRECTOR FOR THE NATIONAL SECURITY COUNCIL
FOR ASIAN AFFAIRS JEFF BADER,
DEPUTY NATIONAL SECURITY ADVISOR MIKE FROMAN
AND
DEPUTY NATIONAL SECURITY ADVISOR BEN RHODES
THE WHITE HOUSE
November 17 , 2009
Excerpts
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Q: To Jeff, on Iran, it seemed as if President Hu had a lot to say about North Korea, had very little to say about Iran. And then in your briefing you said President Obama almost had to brief him about the status of the situation in Iran. If China is a player here, I mean, is this -- does this mean that they're -- are you worried that they're not necessarily going to help on the sanction front, if that's the avenue you've got to go by the end of this -- the clock is ticking on Iran -- obviously by the end of the year? Was there any talk the way there was apparently talk with the Russians about what sanctions might look like? Was there any talk privately with President Hu and the Chinese delegation on this front?
MR. BADER: I would say I would agree with you, Chuck, that President Hu spoke more on the subject of North Korea than on Iran. From the Chinese perspective, North Korea is a more immediate problem and a more immediate security concern, so it's not surprising that they would place more emphasis on that.
Again, without wanting to speak for the Chinese on this, I wouldn't -- I don't believe that President Hu is in the dark about what's going on on Iran. I think he's -- I think he is well briefed on it. The Chinese have been involved in the P5-plus-1 process. They have played a constructive role, particularly in the last few months as we've been dealing with this Tehran research reactor issue. They've been involved in all of the meetings with the Iranians. We've had conference calls among the six in which the Chinese have played a constructive role.
You were right in sort of the premise of your question that the Chinese have been less enthusiastic, historically, about sanctions, and the Chinese -- they have a substantial relationship with the Iranians, particularly in the energy sector. The Chinese clearly are hoping that there will be some sort of a resolution on this Tehran research reactor that will not require going to the U.N. Security Council.
But the President did talk to President Hu about the possibility -- indeed, at this point, when -- well, let's say -- I won't characterize -- let's just say the possibility that we will not reach resolution of this issue and we may have to go to track two and greater pressure. I would not say that we got an answer today from the Chinese, nor did we expect one on the subject. I'm confident that whatever direction we choose to go -- we need to go towards the end of the year, that the Chinese will remain part of the unified P5-plus-1 front.
Q: Did the U.S. -- did the President at all bring up -- obviously the Chinese are concerned about their energy relationship with Iran. Did the President bring up alternative methods for them or ways that they could help the Chinese sort of make up for that if they discontinue --
MR. BADER: Not in this discussion, no.
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MR. GIBBS: Chuck, just to add one more thing, I think the IAEA just completed a report that I think is another important building block for the international community, when you have the IAEA delineating very clearly the responsibilities that Iran continues not to live up to. The structures in the U.N. Security Council that they have ignored, particularly with Qom, continues to build international consensus and brings -- with the P5-plus-1 in the lead -- builds that international consensus and puts more pressure on the Iranians. That was the goal of engagement in the beginning and that's the progress that's being made.
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