UNITED NATIONS, Feb. 14 (Xinhuanet) -- Chinese Foreign Minister Tang Jiaxuan said Friday that a political settlement should be sought for the Iraq issue within the framework of the United Nations.

¡¡¡¡This approach will help maintain peace and stability in the Gulf region and the authority and credibility of the United Nations.

¡¡¡¡He made the remarks while meeting separately with UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan, US Secretary of State Colin Powell, Russian Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov and Greek Foreign Minister George Papandreou on the sidelines of the UN Security Council session on Iraq.

¡¡¡¡Tang stressed that Iraq must comply with relevant Security Council resolutions in a strict, comprehensive and earnest manner,and cooperate more pro-actively with the UN weapons inspectors.

¡¡¡¡He said the report delivered Friday to the council by chief UN inspectors Hans Blix and Mohamed ElBaradei does not mark the conclusion of the inspection process. Instead, inspections should proceed on the basis of the relevant resolutions of the council.

¡¡¡¡The minister reiterated China's support for the UN Monitoring, Verification and Inspection Commission and the International Atomic Energy Agency. He said that two agencies responsible for weapons inspections in Iraq should continue their work objectively,impartially and professionally.

¡¡¡¡During their meetings, the officials exchanged ideas on the Iraq issue and agreed that the Security Council should play its due role at this crucial moment. Enditem

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