US for New Sanctions Resolution on Iran within Weeks
The US has said that for laying down the ground for new sanctions against Iran over its nuclear programme, it wants UN Security Council to approve a resolution within weeks, not months, reported Reuters citing the Pentagon.
Talking to media persons, Pentagon press secretary Geoff Morrell said that US Defense Secretary Robert Gates discussed with leaders in Turkey, Italy and France the ‘urgent need’ to move forward on sanctions as soon as possible, report said.
In response to a query as to how soon sanctions could be in place, Morrell said that Gates, who visited Paris this week, believed it could happen ‘in weeks, not months’, said report.
“It is always a negotiating process and we’re just at the beginning of it,” Gates said in an interview with Fox News, a transcript of which was released on Tuesday.
“I think it’s going to take some period of time; I would say weeks, not months, to see if we can’t get another UN Security Council resolution,” he added.
Responding to a question as to what would happen if China or any other country opposed a resolution, Gates said: “All I can say is we have been successful in getting several Security Council resolutions so I’m optimistic we’ll be successful again.”
Morrell said that Gates ‘clearly thinks time is of the essence’ to approve the resolution in order to provide a ‘legal platform’ for the European Union and others to ‘take action on their own’.
