Chinese Foreign Minister says political solutions only way to stamp out Syrian crisis

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said here on Thursday that political solutions are the only way to stamp out the Syrian crisis.

Wang made the remarks at a joint press conference with Arab League Secretary-General Nabil al-Araby and Qatari foreign minister Sheikh Mohammed Bin Abdulrahman Bin Jassim Al-Thani after the 7th Ministerial Meeting of China-Arab Cooperation Forum.

In answering a question on Syria and his expectations about the upcoming fifth International Syria Support Group (ISSG) ministerial meeting, Wang said the UN Security Council Resolution 2254 is the roadmap for political solutions to the Syrian war and should be fully implemented despite all kinds of difficulties.

The ISSG talks, also known as the Vienna peace talks for Syria, are negotiations of foreign powers that began in Vienna, Austria in October 2015 at the level of foreign ministers, to resolve the conflict in Syria after previous unsuccessful Syrian peace initiatives.

"China welcomes and supports the efforts taken by the United States and Russia on cease-fire and humanitarian access in Syria, and expects the international community to play an even greater role in realizing comprehensive truce all across Syria," he said.

The minister also told reporters that he hopes countries in the region to shoulder their responsibilities and jointly support the political resolution of Syrian issues.

Wang underlined that the future of Syria should be decided by Syrians, and China hopes that the government and the oppositions will engage with each other in direct talks to find common grounds and build up trust so as to reach a solution that is in line with the UN resolution and can be accepted by all sides.

The one-day CASCF ministerial conference was held in Doha, the capital of Qatar on May 12 under the theme of "Working together on The Belt and Road Initiative and deepening China-Arab strategic cooperation."

Around 200 representatives from 22 Arab countries and China attended the meeting and signed several important documents for cooperation.

Source: XINHUA