On April 20, 2002, President Jiang Zemin, on a state visit to Iran, held talks with Iranian President Mohammad Khatami in Tehran. They had an in-depth exchange of views on Sino-Iranian relations as well as regional and
international issues of mutual interest.

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Khatami aired Iran's viewpoint on the gulf situation, saying Iraq's sovereignty and territorial integrity should be respected, while Iraq should implement relevant resolutions of the U.N. Security Council and the relating issues should be resolved through political means. Iran is opposed to military interference in Iraq by any country. Jiang said the issues left over by the Gulf war, including the sanctions against Iraq, have long been left unsolved and greatly affected the security and development of this region. This is not only against the basic interests of the Gulf countries, but also runs counter to the world peace and stability at large. In recent years, relevant countries have worked to improve their relations and achieved remarkable progress. China hopes this momentum continues to be maintained and the issues left over by the Gulf War should be properly handled at an early date, in line with relevant resolutions of the U.N. Security Council.

On the Iraqi issue, Jiang said China's stand is that Iraq should strictly implement relevant resolutions of the U.N. Security Council, restore its cooperation with the United Nations and realize the good-neighborly relations through practical action. Iraq's sovereignty and territorial integrity should be respected. The Security Council should undertake objective appraisal of Iraq's implementation of these resolutions and lift the sanctions accordingly at an early date so as to ease the sufferings of the Iraqi people. China, as permanent member of the Security Council, will continue to play a positive role in helping solve the issues.

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