January 24, 2003	Friday	Ziqa’ad 20, 1423

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MOSCOW, Jan 23: China and Russia, lining up behind France and Germany, opposed the use of force against Iraq and called for exhausting all diplomatic means for a peaceful solution.

China expressed “worry” about a buildup of troops in the Gulf region, but said it was hopeful a six-nation meeting sponsored by Turkey would help avert a US-led invasion.

“We express worry and unease about the current large-scale military concentration in the region. We advocate solving the Iraq question through political and diplomatic means,” foreign ministry spokeswoman Zhang Qiyue said in a routine briefing.

She said China’s position on Iraq was close to that of the French government, which opposes the use of force against Iraq.

“Any move taken by relevant countries should be conducive to resolving the Iraq issue through diplomatic and political means,” Zhang said in response to a question about the Australian government sending troops to the Middle East region.

“Our consistent position is to solve the Iraqi issue through diplomatic and political means, so we adopt a positive attitude toward the suggestion made by relevant countries, such as Turkey and Egypt,” Zhang said.

Russian President Vladimir Putin, in a hotline call to Washington, told US President George Bush that next week’s report by the arms inspectors to the UNSC held the key to the next move in the Iraqi crisis.

“The Russian side noted that the main criteria in evaluating the situation (on Iraq) were the conclusions by international inspectors which are soon to be presented to the UNSC,” a Kremlin statement said.—Reuters