In a joint press conference along with his French and German counterparts, Russian Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov said that the top priority right now was to put an end to the hostilities in Iraq, and to solve the humanitarian problems.

He said that when the war is still continuing, it is premature at this stage to discuss the mode for Iraq's reconstruction.

An early end to the war in Iraq benefits all the concerned parties including the United States, he added.

German Foreign Minister Joschka Fischer said that during their meeting, he, Ivanov and French Foreign Minister Dominique de Villepin agreed that the United Nations must play a central role in Iraq's reconstruction.

Meanwhile, he said the first priority now is the humanitarian crisis in Iraq.

Expressing "deep concern" to the plight the Iraqi people was sustaining, De Villepin pointed out that the authority of the international norms must not be challenged, especially amid such a mankind catastrophe.

He criticized the United States for concocting plans for postwar Iraq and allocating reconstruction contracts, saying Iraq was by no means a pie in which anyone could have a finger, not a paradise for invaders.

Since the US-led war against Iraq entered into its 16th day, France, Germany and Russia, who share the same anti-war stance, have beefed up their efforts to seek a solution to Iraq's postwar settlement.

(Xinhua News Agency April 4, 2003)