Tang made the remarks during a meeting with a delegation of Arab foreign ministers from Bahrain, Lebanon, Tunisia, Egypt, Syria and Secretary-General of the Arab League Amr Moussa.

Tang said the Iraq issue is now at a critical juncture of whether there will be a political solution or a military one.

A majority of Security Council members called for continued weapons inspections in Iraq so as to find a political solution to the issue, Tang said. He also expressed his belief that as long as the United Nations carries on its weapons inspections in Iraq, a peaceful solution still remains possible.

The Arab foreign ministers warned that should a US-led war break out in Iraq, the Middle East situation, especially the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, would become even more complicated and difficult to solve and is likely to tumble out of control.

The Arab League hoped that UN Security Council Resolution 1441 would be fully implemented and weapons inspections could continue and utmost efforts would be made to avert war in Iraq.

The delegation also spoke highly of China's just stand on the Iraq issue and its constructive role in solving the crisis, and pledged to strengthen friendly ties between China and Arab states.

On the same day, Tang also held talks with Guinean Foreign Minister Lonseny Fall, whose country currently holds the rotating Security Council presidency. Fall noted that China, as a permanent member of the UN Security Council, plays an important role in pushing forward a political solution to the Iraq issue.

Tang arrived in NY Thursday for the Security Council meeting on Iraq issue scheduled for Friday.

(Xinhua News Agency March 8, 2003)