"It is a shame to see the death of civilians and combatants in Iraq. There still is time for diplomacy. Now, more than ever, we need a solution within the framework of the United Nations," he said.

Chaderton was attending the 11th Ministerial Meeting of the RioGroup-European Union (EU) in Athens, Greece.

The remarks of Chaderton came after the Venezuelan government clearly rejected war against Iraq through its high-level representatives.

Venezuelan Vice President Jose Rangel criticized the military action against Iraq, after his visit to Santiago, Chile.

He warned that "we already are in a world of great insecurity, because the only guarantee, the United Nations, has collapsed in view of what is happening."

He said he did not mean that the United States prepares attacks on other nations, yet "the arguments presented for the Iraqi case could be repeated in any other type of aggression in any other country of the world."

(Xinhua News Agency March 26, 2003)