China criticises Iranian president's holocaust denial
China today criticised Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s remarks denying the Nazi holocaust, saying it was opposed to actions that could undermine world stability.
Ahmadinejad yesterday called the murder of six million Jews during the Second World War a “myth” that was used as a pretext for establishing the Jewish state of Israel in the heart of the Muslim world.
In October, the Iranian leader had called for Israel’s destruction.
Today, China’s Foreign Ministry spokesman Qin Gang pointedly rejected Ahmadinejad’s comments.
“We are not in favour of any remarks detrimental to stability and peace,” he said. “Israel is a sovereign state.”
Tension between Iran and Israel was high even before Ahmadinejad’s remarks, with senior Israeli officials refusing to rule out military means to prevent Iran from developing a nuclear weapon.
Iran denies that its nuclear development programme has any military applications, saying it is aimed instead at generating electricity.
China maintains good relations with both Iran and Israel. It recently signed an agreement with Tehran aimed at giving it direct access to large supplies of Iranian oil.
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