Chinese Foreign Minister Tang Jiaxuan said Tuesday that China
greatly appreciated the firm anti-terrorism stance adopted by the
Arab states and is willing to work with them on anti-terrorist
efforts.
Tang made the remarks in his phone conversation with Amr Mahmoud
Moussa, secretary-general of the League of Arab States
(LAS).
Tang reiterated China's basic position on anti-terrorism and
pointed out that international cooperation should be strengthened
in combating terrorism.
He
stressed that the United Nations should be given full play in the
global anti-terror campaign and said all military operations should
conform to the tenet and principles of the UN Charter.
"Evidence should be concrete and targets be clear so that innocent
civilians could not be injured," he said, referring to a military
response to the September 11 terrorist attacks on the United
States.
Moussa said that he attached importance to and fully agreed with
China's principled stance in anti-terrorism. Noting that terrorism
is a complex issue, he said military operations alone, at this
point, cannot thoroughly resolve the problem.
He
called for extensive international cooperation in the fight against
terrorism, saying that currently priority should be given to
enhanced international consultation and cooperation.
Moussa also expressed the worries of the Arab states in regard to
the deteriorating situation in Palestine and the difficulty in
securing the resumption of the Middle East peace talks.
Tang again reaffirmed the unswerving support of China to the just
struggle of the Palestine and Arabian people.
"We believe that it is imperative for Israeli and Palestine to
realize a cease-fire so as to create conditions for the resumption
of peace talks," he said.
Under the current circumstances, Tang said, it is more than
necessary for the international community to take joint actions and
push forward the peace talks more actively.
Tang stressed that China is ready to strengthen consultation and
cooperation with LAS and all other Arab states both in anti-
terrorist cooperation and the advance of Mideast peace process.
Earlier, Tang also had a phone conversation with Pakistani Foreign
Minister Mian Abdul Sattar Laleka and Bulgarian Foreign Minister
Solomon Passy, and exchanged views with them on bilateral ties and
anti-terrorist cooperation.
( 10/03/2001)