China asserts impartial position on Syria

Syria: China has been watching closely the situation in Syria and calls all the sides in the conflict for stopping violence as soon as possible and beginning an overwhelming political dialogue.”

China asserts that it maintains an unbiased position on the unrest in Syria and is trying to resolve the issue through dialog with all the involved parties.

“China takes a responsible and impartial position on the Syrian issue,” Chinese Deputy Foreign Minister Zhai Jun said after a meeting with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad in the Syrian capital Damascus on Sunday.

Zhai is on an official visit to Syria for talks with the government officials and the Syrian opposition in order to find a solution to the ongoing unrest in the Middle Eastern country.

“China’s government supports dialog with the Syrian government, Syrian opposition and the LAS [Arab League States] and together with the international community plays an active and constructive role in the settlement of the Syrian crisis,” he added.

Beijing has called for an immediate halt to violence in Syria and urged the conflicting sides to start talks aimed at achievement of a ‘political settlement.’

“China has been closely watching the situation in Syria and calls on all the sides of the conflict to stop violence as soon as possible and begin a far-reaching political dialogue,” the Chinese official noted.

Syria has been experiencing unrest since mid-March 2011.

The violence has claimed the lives of hundreds, reportedly including over 2,000 security forces.

Damascus blames ‘outlaws, saboteurs, and armed terrorist groups’ for the unrest, asserting that it is being orchestrated from abroad.

The West and the Syrian opposition, however, accuse the government of killing protesters. On Thursday, Beijing voted against an Arab League-drafted anti-Syria resolution at the UN General Assembly, which condemned Damascus, over, what it called, the government's crackdown on opposition protests.

Earlier in February, China and Russia vetoed a UN Security Council draft resolution on the country, which called on Assad to resign and hand over power to opposition leaders.

The two countries had also vetoed a similar resolution against Syria in October.

Press TV