On the afternoon of April 20,
2003, Foreign Minister Li Zhaoxing had a phone conversation
with Iranian Minister of Foreign Affairs Kamal Kharazi at
the latter's request. Kharazi
said Iran hopes to advance bilateral relations, which is in
the fundamental interests of the two peoples and conducive
to peace, stability and cooperation in the region. He briefed Li on the recent
meeting on Iraq held by the foreign ministers of eight
Middle East countries, saying the meeting stressed that
Iraq's affairs must be managed by its own people, the use of
Iraq's natural resources must conform to the will of the
Iraqi people, and the United Nations should play a key role
in Iraq's post-war arrangements. He said Iran attaches
importance to China's role on the Iraq issue given that
China is a permanent member of the UN Security Council and
said that Iran will maintain consultations with the Chinese
side. Pointing to the
sound development of Sino-Iranian relations in recent years,
Li said the Chinese side would continue to advance bilateral
reciprocal cooperation in such fields as politics, economy,
trade and culture. Li
noted that China attaches importance to the statement issued
by the meeting of foreign ministers on Iraq and said the
Iraqi situation should be stabilized as soon as possible. He
went on to say that the anarchy in Iraq is reason for
concern and the looting of some embassies in Iraq, including
the Chinese embassy, is in violation of international law.
The theft of a significant number of invaluable relics from
the Iraqi National Museum represents a major and
irrecoverable loss to the cultural treasures of human
civilization. He stressed that the humanitarian crisis in
Iraq should be alleviated as soon as possible and added that
China will provide more humanitarian assistance to the Iraqi
people in accordance with the situation on the ground. Li said Iraq's post-war
arrangements and reconstruction should be handled within the
UN framework, which is in the interests of all parties.
Without the United Nations, major international issues
cannot be settled properly. He said that as time goes, the
international relations should step toward democratization,
adding that inside a country, people is of the utmost
importance and China cherished the welfare of people even at
ancient times. China insists that Iraq's internal affairs
should be handled by the Iraqi people.
|