Chinese Foreign Minister Tang Jiaxuan and his Russian counterpart Igor Ivanov condemned the recent air raids against Iraq by the United States and Britain, during a telephone call Monday, according to sources in the Foreign Ministry.

During the phone call, made at the suggestion of the Russian side, both ministers expressed deep regret over the loss of life and property caused by the military action, stressing that the national sovereignty and territorial integrity of Iraq should be respected.

Tang pointed out that the Iraqi issue should be settled within the framework of relevant resolutions of the UN Security Council. All parties concerned should earnestly respect the gist and principles of the UN Charter, as well as the authority of the UN Security Council, and make more efforts to break the stalemate instead of resorting to unilateral actions by setting aside the UN Security Council, Tang said. His viewpoint won assent from his Russian counterpart.

The two ministers also exchanged views on other international issues and problems of common interest.

(Xinhua 02/20/2001)