Iran FM says US willing to continue talks, open to China's help
Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi addresses a press conference after attending the BRICS Foreign Ministers' Meeting at the Embassy of the Islamic Republic of Iran in New Delhi, India, Friday. EPA-Yonhap
NEW DELHI — Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said on Friday he had "received messages" from the United States saying it is willing to continue talks, and that he was open to any support, including from China.
"We received messages again from the Americans saying that they are willing to continue the talks and continue the interaction," Araghchi told reporters in the Indian capital.
Araghchi spoke a day after U.S. President Donald Trump said Xi Jinping had offered China's help to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, and that the Chinese leader had also pledged not to send military equipment to aid Iran in its war against the United States and Israel.
"We appreciate any country who has the ability to help, particularly China," Araghchi said, speaking after he attended a meeting of the BRICS bloc of nations in New Delhi.
"We have very good relations with China, we are strategic partners to each other, and we know that (the) Chinese have a good intention, so anything that can be done by them to help diplomacy would be welcomed by the Islamic republic," he added.
China said it had been working to help end the conflict since it began with US and Israeli strikes on Iran on Feb. 28.
"There is no point in continuing this conflict, which should not have happened in the first place," China's foreign ministry told AFP.
"To find an early way to resolve the situation is in the interest of not only the US and Iran, but also regional countries and the rest of the world."
Pakistan has been the key mediator so far between the United States and Iran, but a first round of talks in Islamabad in April failed to reach any agreements.
"The mediation process by Pakistan has not failed yet, but it is in a very difficult course, mostly because of the Americans' behaviour and the mistrust which exists between us," Araghchi said.