Mr. President, 

I thank Special Envoy Geir Pedersen and Deputy Director Mudawi for their briefings.

A Syrian-led and Syrian-owned political process is the only viable way to resolve the Syrian issue. China welcomes the extensive engagement of Special Envoy Pedersen and his team with all stakeholders on the implementation of Security Council Resolution 2254. We hope that the constitutional committee will be reconvened as soon as possible. China welcomes Special Envoy Pedersen’s continued efforts to follow the step-for-step approach and promote all Syrian parties to continue consultations and build up consensus. Russia, Türkiye, and Syria held the tripartite talks recently, and demonstrated willingness to promote the restoration of peace and stability in Syria. China welcomes this positive step. We hope that the joint efforts of these three countries will bring about fundamental improvement of the situation in northern Syria. 

The counter-terrorism situation in Syria remains complicated. The international community should abide by international law and Security Council resolutions, adopt unified standards, combat all terrorists in Syria with zero tolerance, and cease condoning, shielding, or politically exploiting terrorist forces. The sovereignty and territorial integrity of Syria must be fully respected. The illegal presence of foreign troops and their illegal military operations in Syria must end. And the illegal plundering of natural resources in Syria by foreign troops must stop immediately. 

Mr. President, 

Earlier this month, the Council adopted Resolution 2672 on the extension of the authorization for the Syria cross-border humanitarian assistance delivery mechanism. China calls on the international community to fully take stock of the lessons learned over the past six months from the implementation of the mechanism, and make even greater efforts in the next six months to ensure the full implementation of the resolution and achieve a bigger impact on the ground. 

Cross-border mechanism of humanitarian deliveries is a temporary arrangement made under special circumstances. Ultimately, there should be a gradual and orderly transition to cross-line deliveries, so as to allow cross-line deliveries to become the main channel for humanitarian assistance to Syria. We welcome UN’s updated plan for cross-line operations in northwest Syria, and look forward to seeing a more significant increase in the frequency of aid operations as well as the size of convoys. Cross-line delivery for the Rukban refugee camp in southeast Syria should be resumed as soon as possible. 

Early recovery programs can contribute to fostering endogenous drivers for Syria’s development. China urges all donors to prioritize the well-being of the entire Syrian population, further improve the funding of early recovery projects, and promote their balanced and efficient implementation throughout Syria. We note with regret that explosive remnants of war have seriously affected the livelihood and day-to-day life of the Syrian people. China hopes that relevant efforts will be included in the scope of early recovery as soon as possible. 

Unilateral sanctions and the resulting over-compliance run counter to the efforts of the Security Council and the wider international community to improve humanitarian access and increase humanitarian resources in Syria. China once again calls on relevant countries to immediately and fully lift unilateral sanctions against Syria. 

Thank you, Mr. President.