China has welcomed Russian President Vladimir Putin’s proposed summit of world leaders to avoid conflict over the U.S.’s attempt to push for the return of all U.N. sanctions on Iran, according to Al Jazeera. This news comes after the U.S. lost a bid on Friday, August 14 to extend a U.N. arms embargo on Iran. The U.N. weapons ban on Iran will expire this October under a 2015 nuclear deal between Iran and six other world powers. Russia and China opposed extending the weapons ban while the U.S. and the Dominican Republic were in favour of extending it. Eleven members of the U.N. Security Council abstained from voting, including France, Germany, and Britain.

On Friday, August 14, Russian President Vladimir Putin called for an “urgent” summit on the topic of the Iran weapons embargo to avoid “confrontation and escalation” at the U.N., according to a statement released by Putin. In his statement, Putin adds that the alternative to a summit is “only further escalation of tensions, increasing risk of conflict—such a scenario must be avoided.” The summit proposed by Putin would take place online, with the U.S., Britain, France, China, Germany, and Iran in attendance. French President Emmanuel Macron indicated that he is open to taking part in the summit, and as of Monday, August 17 China has also agreed to attend. Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian said in a statement that “as for the Russian proposal for a teleconference summit on the Iran nuclear issue, China expresses its welcome and appreciation.” As of Monday, August 17, the U.S. has declined to attend Putin’s proposed summit.

Since the U.N. Security Council decided on August 14 against extending the weapons ban on Iran, the U.S. could now potentially follow through on a threat to trigger a return of all U.N. sanctions on Iran using a provision on the nuclear deal known as a “snapback,” as reported by Al Jazeera. Although U.S. President Donald Trump unilaterally abandoned the nuclear deal in 2018, on Thursday, August 13 the U.S. circulated a memo among Security Council members stating that they remain a participant in the nuclear deal and therefore still reserve the right to use the snapback provision. The U.S.’s potential use of the snapback provision is likely what has prompted Russian President Putin to propose a summit on the matter of U.N. sanctions on Iran.

If the U.S. chooses to use the snapback provision and reinstate all U.N. sanctions on Iran, this could add to existing tensions between the U.S. and Iran. According to Al Jazeera, many diplomats say that triggering of the snapback provision would put the fragile nuclear agreement further at risk because reimplementing U.N sanctions would mean that Iran would lose a significant incentive for limiting its nuclear activities. This sentiment has been echoed by Iran’s U.N. ambassador Majid Takht Ravanchi, who in a statement said that “imposition of any sanctions or restrictions on Iran by the Security Council will be met severely by Iran and our options are not limited.”

In order to maintain peace and cooperation, the U.S. should not trigger the snapback provision of the nuclear deal. Doing so would only heighten tensions with Iran and could potentially lead to a war between the two nations. Additionally, the U.S. should be open to attending Russian President Putin’s proposed online summit regarding the future of the Iran weapons ban because the summit aims to avoid conflict between members of the Security Council. The U.S. should follow the example of its close ally, France, and indicate that it is open to discussing the issue further in the interest of conflict avoidance. The U.S. should do everything it can to prevent any escalation between itself and Iran, and therefore should oblige not to use the snapback provision of the nuclear deal as well as demonstrate its openness to the proposed summit and diplomatic conversation with the other members of the Security Council.