China’s move to join Russia in declining President Obama’s call for more sanctions against Tehran delivered a blow to the administration’s tough new stance on Iran’s nuclear program.
Shortly after Russia rebuffed the administration on sanctions, Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao signaled Beijing’s interest in strengthening ties with Iran.
The White House had been hoping for a united, international push against Iran. But both Russia and China hold veto power on the United Nations Security Council, making the prospects for meaningful sanctions highly unlikely.
“It should be clear if there was any doubt that the Obama administration’s attempt to hit the reset button on relations with Moscow has produced very little in tangible results on Iran,” said James Phillips, an expert on Iran at the Heritage Foundation.
Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin said in Beijing that talk of sanctions was “premature.” His remarks contrasted with earlier statements by Russian President Dmitry Medvedev, who seemed to leave a door open on sanctions.
Either way, the administration is insisting that Medvedev’s statements on Iran are the operative ones.
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton told the BBC after meeting with Russian officials that Washington and Moscow were closer than ever on Iran.
“We continue to believe that we do need to keep the public pressure on, but there’s no difference in approach or ultimate objective,” Clinton said.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said after meeting with Clinton this week that the threat of sanctions was “counterproductive.” Who to believe? Phillips called Medvedev “Putin’s mini-me.”
“If Putin says one thing and Medvedev says another, I think you should listen to Putin,” Phillips said.
Obama last month joined French President Nicolas Sarkozy and British Prime Minister Gordon Brown in calling for sanctions and condemning Iran for constructing a secret uranium enrichment facility.
Tehran has denied the facility is intended for weapons development and agreed to allow international inspectors to have access to the plant near Qum.
Ted Galen Carpenter, vice president for defense and foreign policy studies at the Cato Institute, said the likely result of China joining Russia in demurring on sanctions would be a new set of largely ineffective sanctions by the United Nations Security Council.
“At some point Beijing and Moscow may be willing to give the U.S. a sop on some minor concessions,” Carpenter said.
Issues at play include Medvedev’s interest in keeping a dialogue going with Obama after the president agreed to reconsider a missile defense program strongly opposed by Moscow. The Russians also want to continue to develop strategic and economic relations with China, which also has an interest in maintaining ties with the White House.
Obama next month travels to Beijing, where he is set to meet with Chinese President Hu Jintao.
