Chinese Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi said on Thursday that Iran has been playing a positive role in the efforts to resolve the crisis that has gripped Syria since March 2011.
“We welcome Iran’s role in resolving the Syrian crisis,” Yang said during a meeting with Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian in Beijing.
He added that the crisis can only be ended through a political solution and said that all the parties involved should support the efforts of Lakhdar Brahimi, the UN-Arab League joint special envoy on Syria.
Yang also reiterated China’s opposition to foreign intervention in Syria, saying that the Syrian people should be allowed to determine their own destiny.
Chinese FM expresses hope Iran nuclear talks will resume soon
Commenting on the negotiations between Iran and the 5+1 group (the five permanent members of the UN Security Council and Germany), the Chinese foreign minister expressed hope that a new round of talks on Tehran’s nuclear program would be held soon.
The latest round of high-level talks between Iran and the six world powers was held in Moscow on June 18 and 19, 2012.
Yang also said that all countries, including Iran, have the right to use nuclear technology for peaceful purposes, adding that dialogue would be beneficial for both Iran and the parties involved.
Commenting on the situation in Syria, the Iranian deputy foreign minister for Arab and African affairs said, “While supporting the Syrian people and being in contact with the opposition, we believe in a political approach and support the Syrian government’s struggle against terrorism and Bashar al-Assad’s democratic political initiative.”
Assad’s plan calls for the convening of a national reconciliation conference and the formation of a broad-based representative government that would then oversee new elections, the drafting of a new constitution, and a general amnesty.
Amir-Abdollahian added, “The United States, through supporting terrorist and extremist groups, committed an act of injustice against both the people and the opposition and prevented Bashar al-Assad’s reforms from being fully implemented.”
“The Americans did not give the people an opportunity to see their demands met and also did not pave the way for the opposition to resolve issues through political means,” he stated.
