China Calls for a Political Settlement
China says that as long as there is still the slightest hope for a political settlement, the Council should exert its
utmost effort to achieve that. Foreign Minister Tang Jiaxuan says the American presentation represented transparency.
And he hopes States with such information and evidence would hand them over to the UN monitoring commission and the UN
nuclear agency to assist them in their on-the-spot investigations. Speaking through an interpreter, Foreign Minister
Jiaxuan called on the Council to respect the call of the two agencies for more time to complete their work.
"We urge Iraq to adopt a more proactive approach, make further explanations and clarification as soon as possible and
cooperate with the inspection process."
The Chinese Foreign Minister says it is the desire of the international community to see a political settlement to the
issue of Iraq. All members of the Council will make statements later before Iraq is allowed to respond.