I welcome to our meeting His Excellency Sheikh Hamad bin Jassim bin Jabr Al-Thani, Prime Minister and Minister for Foreign Affairs of Qatar, the Secretary-General of the League of Arab States, and the Ambassador of Syria. I welcome their briefings to the Council.

Syria is an important country in the Middle East. Its stability affects the security and stability of the entire Middle East region. Like other members of the Security Council, China has closely followed the developments in Syria.

China is of the view that the Syrian people’s request for reform and safeguarding their interests should be respected. It is imperative to put an immediate end to all violence in Syria and to stop the killing of innocent civilians. At the same time, an inclusive political process for the wide participation of all Syrian parties must be started without delay, to speed up reform and resolve differences and disputes peacefully through dialogue and consultations, so as to restore stability to Syria and to enable it to embark on the path of all-around development. We believe that Syria and its people are capable and resourceful enough to find a way to resolve their issues and to find a political system and a degree of economic growth suited to Syria’s national conditions.

The international community can play a positive and constructive role in this regard and can provide assistance for a peaceful political settlement of the Syrian issue through dialogue.

Syria is a member of the Arab world. China hopes to see a proper settlement of the Syrian crisis within the framework of the Arab League. We support the League’s efforts to seek a political solution of the Syrian issue and to maintain stability in the region. We hope to see the success of its mediation efforts. The Arab League observer mission plays a significant role in helping the international community learn about the real situation in Syria. We attach importance to the report submitted by the observer mission (S/2012/71, annex, enclosure 4). We hope the mission will continue to fulfill its mandate and carry out objective and impartial investigations. We call on the Syrian Government and other parties concerned to provide full cooperation to the mission in that regard. China has repeatedly stressed that the actions of the Security Council on the Syrian issue should comply with the purposes and principles of the Charter of the United Nations, help ease tensions in Syria, promote political dialogue and defuse disputes, and help maintain peace and stability in the Middle East region.

In the meantime, China has consistently taken a cautious approach to sanctions. Sanctions, rather than assistance in resolving an issue, often lead to further complications of the situation. We firmly oppose the use of force to resolve the Syrian issue, as well as practices, such as forcibly pushing for regime change, that violate the purposes and principles of the United Nations Charter and the basic norms that govern international relations.

China supports the draft resolution proposed by Russia on the Syrian issue and takes note of the new text that has been distributed by Morocco in the Security Council. China is ready to act in accordance with the aforementioned principled position, to engage actively and constructively in consultations, and to work with all parties concerned to push for an appropriate settlement of the Syrian issue through peaceful dialogue.