BEIJING, March 24 (Reuters) - Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi called on Tuesday on parties to seize all opportunities to start peace talks as soon as possible in a phone call with his Iranian counterpart Abbas Araqchi, according to a statement from Wang's ministry.
Talking is always better than fighting, Wang told Araqchi, adding that "all hotspot issues should be resolved through dialogue and negotiation, not by using force".
According to Iranian state media on Wednesday, Araqchi had responded by saying:
"Iran's serious expectation from the member states of the Security Council, especially China and Russia, is to prevent the U.S. from continuing to abuse the Council by taking a firm stance in condemning the aggression of the U.S. and the Zionist regime (Israel)".
(Reporting by Shi Bu, Yukun Zhang and Ryan Woo; Additional reporting by Dubai newsroom; Editing by Alison Williams and Neil Fullick)
