Posts tagged ‘Bashar al-Assad’

06/09/2013

China urges U.N. role on Syria after U.S. says gives up

reuters: “China’s Foreign Ministry urged a role for the U.N. Security Council in resolving the crisis in Syria on Friday after the United States said it had given up trying to work with the council on Syria, accusing Russia of holding it hostage.

A Free Syrian Army fighter poses for a picture as he holds an RPG launcher in Raqqa province, eastern Syria September 4, 2013. Picture taken September 4, 2013. REUTERS/Nour Fourat

U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Samantha Power’s remarks on Thursday left no doubt that Washington would not seek U.N. approval for a military strike on Syria in response to an August 21 chemical attack near Damascus.

She said a draft resolution Britain submitted to the five permanent council members last week calling for a response to that attack was effectively dead.

Asked about those comments, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Hong Lei said the Security Council needed to be used.

China supports the important role that the U.N. Security Council plays in properly resolving the Syria issue,” Hong told a daily news briefing in Beijing.

“We hope that relevant parties can continue communications and coordination and hold deep consultations so as to resolve the relevant issue in a peaceful way,” he added.

China has called for a full and impartial investigation by U.N. chemical weapons inspectors in Syria into the August 21 attack, and has warned against pre-judging the results. It has also said that whoever uses chemical weapons had to be held accountable.

“China believes that a political solution is the only realistic way out on the Syria issue. Given the current circumstances, a political solution is of utmost importance,” Hong said.

“We also hope the international community can work together and push for the holding of an international conference on the Syria issue at an early date.”

Russia and China have both vetoed previous Western efforts to impose U.N. penalties on Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.

But China has also been keen to show it is not taking sides and has urged the Syrian government to talk to the opposition and take steps to meet demands for political change. It has said a transitional government should be formed.”

via China urges U.N. role on Syria after U.S. says gives up | Reuters.

See also: https://chindia-alert.org/political-factors/geopolitics-chinese/

26/08/2013

China supports U.N. investigation in Syria, urges caution

China (and Russia) have finally stopped giving President Assad their full support.  

(Reuters) – China supports an independent and objective investigation by U.N. experts into allegations of the use of chemical weapons in Syria, China’s foreign minister said on Monday, while urging a cautious response and political resolution to the crisis.

United Nations (U.N.) vehicles transport a team of U.N. chemical weapons experts to the scene of a poison gas attack outside the Syrian capital last week, in Damascus August 26, 2013. REUTERS/Khaled al-Hariri

“China has paid close attention to the reports of the use of chemical weapons inside Syria, and China resolutely opposes the use of chemical weapons no matter who uses them,” Foreign Minister Wang Yi said in a statement on the ministry’s website.

“China supports the U.N.’s secretariat to, in accordance with relevant U.N. resolutions, open an independent, objective, fair and professional investigation, to find out what really happened as soon as possible,” Wang said.

U.N. inspectors left central Damascus on Monday to investigate sites of an alleged chemical weapons strike on the outskirts of the Syrian capital, after calls from Western powers for military action to punish what may be the world’s worst chemical attack in 25 years.

Wang did not directly refer to the threats of military action, but urged a careful handling of the matter.

“The only way out for the Syrian issue is a political resolution,” he said. “All parties ought to cautiously handle the Syrian chemical weapons issue to avoid interfering in (efforts) to resolve the Syrian issue politically.”

Syria agreed on Sunday to allow the inspectors to visit the site. But the United States and its allies say evidence has probably been destroyed by heavy government shelling of the area over the past five days. It said the offer to allow inspectors came too late.

Major powers including Russia, Syrian President Bashar al-Assad‘s main ally which has long blocked U.N.-sponsored intervention against him, have urged the Syrian leader to cooperate with U.N. chemical weapons inspectors already in Damascus to pursue earlier allegations.

China said last week that no side should rush to pre-judge the results of any investigation by U.N. chemical weapons experts in Syria, who it said should carry out an objective and impartial inquiry in consultation with the Syrian government.

via China supports U.N. investigation in Syria, urges caution | Reuters.

14/08/2012

* Syria crisis: China hosts Assad aide Bouthaina Shaaban

BBC News: “A senior aide to Syria’s President Bashar al-Assad has flown to China for talks on the crisis, officials say.

The Chinese foreign ministry said Bouthaina Shaaban would meet Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi later.

The ministry said it was part of its effort to implement the UN’s six-point peace plan. China has twice vetoed UN resolutions against the Assad regime.

Meanwhile, UN humanitarian chief Valerie Amos has arrived in Syria to assess the flow of emergency aid.

She is expected to ask for more visas for foreign aid workers as the Syrian Arab Red Crescent struggles to distribute food.

The UN says an estimated two million Syrian civilians have now been affected by the crisis and more than one million have fled their homes.

Tens of thousands of people have fled across Syria’s borders into Turkey, Jordan, Lebanon and Iraq amid continuing violence across the country.

In another development, foreign ministers of the Islamic Co-operation Organisation (OIC) have called for Syria to be suspended from the 57-nation bloc at an emergency two-day summit in Mecca, Saudi Arabia, which starts on Tuesday.

Only ministers from Algeria and Iran, which is regarded as Syria’s closest ally, were against the recommendation, reports say.

“We certainly do not agree with the suspension of any OIC member,” Iranian Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi said after a preliminary meeting in the city of Jeddah on Monday.

“We have to look for other ways, means and mechanisms for resolving conflicts and crises,” he said.”

via BBC News – Syria crisis: China hosts Assad aide Bouthaina Shaaban.

Despite the deteriorating situation in Syria, China resolutely sticks to its principle of non-military intervention and its position of not supporting any regime change.

21/03/2012

* UN unites on Syria – including China and Russia

President Bashar al-Assad of Syria . Original ...

President Bashar al-Assad of Syria . Original background. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Reuters: “The UN Security Council, including Russia and China, threw its weight on Wednesday behind

Mr. Kofi Annan, former General Secratery of th...

In a statement approved by all its 15 members, the council threatened Syria with unspecified “further steps” if it failed to comply with Annans peace plan, which calls for a ceasefire and demands swift access for aid agencies.

Although the original statement was diluted at Russias demand, editing out any specific ultimatums, the fact that all world powers signed up to the proposal dealt a serious blow to President Bashar al-Assad as he battles a popular uprising.

via U.N. unites on Syria, sanctions set for Assads wife | Reuters.

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