EU presses China on observing Iran sanctions

The European Union's foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton said on Thursday she had pressed China to ensure that Chinese companies did not fill the void left by other firms leaving Iran due to UN sanctions.

"We expected that we would all work together in a way that would be effective but that we would stand together," she said. "My message was meant to be very clear - that we would expect that we wouldn't see 'backfill'." (Reuters)