¡¡¡¡BEIJING, Feb. 19 (Xinhuanet) -- Chinese President Jiang Zemin and Russian President Vladimir Putin discussed the Iraq issue by phone Wednesday evening, according to sources with the Chinese Foreign Ministry.

¡¡¡¡Recent development shows the UN weapons inspectors have made new achievements in Iraq and conditions for weapons inspections have improved, Putin said during the phone discussion.

¡¡¡¡The present situation still requires seeking a solution to the Iraq issue by political means on the basis of the UN Security Council Resolution 1441, Putin said, adding the international community should work jointly to avoid a war.

¡¡¡¡Jiang stressed the UN weapons inspections in Iraq have made newprogress and should continue.

¡¡¡¡Meanwhile, Iraq should implement the relevant UN resolution earnestly and comprehensively, Jiang said, adding Iraq should quickly and seriously deal with problems revealed during the weapons inspections.

¡¡¡¡The international community should continue to make efforts to solving the Iraq issue by political means within the UN framework, Jiang said. Enditem