Source:
ReutersWASHINGTON, Sept 19 (Reuters) - Major powers began negotiations on Friday for a fourth round of U.N. sanctions against Iran to curb its nuclear program, but Russia and China were expected to strongly resist more punitive measures.
Senior officials from France, Britain, Germany and the United States held a private session at the State Department early on Friday to discuss both Iran and Georgia, which Russia invaded last month.
Highlighting divergent views, China and Russia were excluded from the morning talks but were set to join other permanent members of the U.N. Security Council and Germany over lunch to discuss Iran, U.S. officials and diplomats said.
European and U.S. officials were unsure whether tensions with Russia over Georgia would delay or even scupper the imposition of more U.N. sanctions against Iran, which argues its nuclear program is intended to generate more power and not to build an atomic bomb as suspected by the West.
Read more:
http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/N19320968.htm