The United Nations (UN) Security Council should address the concerns of Arabic countries when discussing the Iraqi issue, Foreign Minister Li Zhaoxing told senior Arab officials yesterday.

Li made the remarks during phone talks with Habib Ben Yahia, foreign minister of Tunisia, the current president of the Arab League (AL), and Amr Mahmoud Moussa, AL secretary-general.

Both sides agreed that the military occupation of Iraq should end as soon as possible, Iraq should become sovereign again and a new highly representative Iraqi Government should be established through fair and democratic elections. They also agreed the United Nations should play an important role.

The UN Security Council should heed and respect the opinions of Arabic countries during its discussion, Li said.

At a regular news conference yesterday, Foreign Ministry spokesman Liu Jianchao said China has put forth a proposal to the UN Security Council on the Iraqi issue, elaborating on China's goals and principles.

(HK Edition 05/26/2004 page1)