Li made the remarks in Beijing Sunday afternoon during a phone conversation with Iranian Minister of Foreign Affairs Kamal Kharazi at the latter's request.

During the conversation, Kharazi said Iran hopes to advance bilateral relations, which is the fundamental interest of the two peoples and which is conducive to peace, stability and cooperation in the region.

He briefed Li on the recent meeting on Iraq held by the foreign ministers of eight Middle East countries, saying the meeting stressed that Iraq's affairs must be managed by its own people, the use of Iraq's natural resources must conform to the will of the Iraqi people, and the United Nations should play a key role in Iraq's post-war arrangements.

He said Iran attaches importance to China's role on the Iraq issue given that China is a permanent member of the UN Security Council and said that Iran will maintain consultations with the Chinese side.

Pointing to the sound development of Sino-Iranian relations in recent years, Li said the Chinese side will continue to advance bilateral reciprocal cooperation in such fields as politics, economics, trade and culture.

Li noted that China attaches importance to the statement issued by the meeting of foreign ministers on Iraq and said the Iraqi situation should be stabilized as soon as possible.

He went on to say that the lack of a government in Iraq is reason for concern and the looting of some embassies in Iraq, including the Chinese embassy, is in violation of international law.

The theft of a significant number of invaluable relics from the Iraqi National Museum represents a major and irrecoverable loss to the cultural treasures of human civilization, Li pointed out.

He stressed that the humanitarian crisis in Iraq should be alleviated as soon as possible and added that China will provide more humanitarian assistance to the Iraqi people in accordance with the situation on the ground.

Li said Iraq's post-war arrangements and reconstruction should be handled within the UN framework, which is in the interests of all parties. Without the United Nations, major international issues cannot be settled properly, he added.

(Xinhu News Agency April 20, 2003)