China says Middle East at critical point, calls for cooling tensions and dialogue

BEIJING, Aug 24 (Reuters) - China's Foreign Minister Wang Yi said on Monday the situation in the Middle East and Gulf region had again reached a critical juncture and urged parties involved to return to dialogue and negotiations as soon as possible. Wang made the remarks in a meeting with Foreign Minister of Kuwait Sheikh Jarrah Jaber Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah in Beijing, according to a Chinese foreign ministry statement. • Wang said "the old script of recurring conflict should not be repeated" and the top priority is to de-escalate the situation.