The spokesman said that the warring parties should respect the relevant articles of the Geneva Convention and try their best to ensure safety of journalists and facilitate their work.

"We regret what happened to some journalists in Iraq and hope they would be better protected," he told reporters in a telephone interview on Tuesday.

Earlier in the day, a spokesman of the Greek government, which currently holds the EU's rotating presidency, said that the EU is urging the United States to keep journalists out of the firing line after three correspondents were killed when a US tank fired at the Palestine Hotel in Baghdad where they were staying.

He said that the appeal was made during a telephone talk between Greek Foreign Minister George Papandreou and EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana.

"They agreed to make a joint representation to the United States in order to protect journalists," said the government spokesman Christos Protopapas.

"Greece condemns this repugnant act and expresses its sorrow and regret" at the attack, he added.

(Xinhua News Agency April 9, 2003)