Chinese President Hu
Jintao and Russian President Vladimir Putin met in Bangkok Sunday
over Iraq, the nuclear issue on the Korean Peninsula and bilateral
ties.
The two leaders agreed
that in seeking to resolve the Iraq problem, consideration should
be given to the long-term interests of the Iraqi people and to
lasting peace and stability in the Middle East and the Gulf
region.
They also shared the
view that the political will of the Iraqi people and their
independent choices should be respected.
The task of top priority
now is the early return of stability and social order to Iraq, the
early realization of "Iraqis governing Iraq," and the maintenance
of Iraq's independence, sovereignty and territorial
integrity.
The two presidents, who
are here to attend the 11th Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation
(APEC) Economic Leaders' Meeting scheduled for Monday and Tuesday,
agreed that the new resolution adopted by the United Nations
Security Council on Iraq is conducive to resolving the Iraq issue
within the UN framework.
They pledged to continue
their close contacts and strengthen their coordination so as to
push for a greater role for the United Nations on addressing
regional and global issues.
On the nuclear issue on
the Korean Peninsula, both leaders believe that the six-party talks
in Beijing are beneficial and have established the intention to
seek a nuclear-free Korean Peninsula and to solve the issue through
dialogue.
Hu and Putin indicated
that they would work with all parties concerned to continue the
process of Beijing talks so as to secure a peaceful settlement of
the nuclear issue on the peninsula through dialogue.
The two leaders, who
last met in Moscow in May, also vowed to further strengthen the
Sino-Russian strategic partnership of cooperation.
Since the May summit, Hu
said, relevant departments of both countries have taken positive
steps to implement the agreements reached then, with many new
results in various fields of cooperation.
The 8th regular meeting
between the two countries' prime ministers recently has infused
fresh energy into their economic and trade cooperation, Hu
added.
"Experiences from many
years of cooperation between our two countries have shown that so
long as we proceed from the overall situation of the Sino-Russian
strategic partnership of cooperation and from the fundamental
interests of both sides, so long as the principles of mutual
benefit, reciprocity and good faith are followed, and the concerns
of the other side are accommodated and taken into consideration,
any new scenarios and new problems emerging in bilateral
cooperation can be addressed properly," Hu said.
Putin agreed with Hu's
views of current
Russia-China relations. He said the Good-Neighborly Treaty of
Friendship and Cooperation, signed in July, 2001, laid a legal
foundation for both countries to develop their strategic
partnership of cooperation in the new century.
"There are no
irresolvable issues or obstacles in Russia-China relations," Putin
said. "What we need is the better and faster development of
friendly cooperation."
Putin also extended his
warm congratulations on the success of China's first manned space
flight.
(Xinhua News Agency
October 20, 2003)