Home Meetings & Statements Events & Activities China & UN Documents About China 中文
  Home > Meetings & Statements
Statement by Ambassador WU Haitao at the Security Council Briefing on Syria

2016-11-30 00:57

We have recently been witnessing a continuous escalation of the situation in some parts of Syria, including Aleppo, with the humanitarian situation there continuously worsening, triggering the international community’s widespread concern. China feels for the people who are suffering in Syria and condemns any attack targeting civilians and civilian facilities.

To ease the tension in Aleppo and other areas, the international community should advance its efforts along four tracks in a balanced way. The four tracks are ceasefire, political negotiation, humanitarian assistance and the joint fight against terrorism. The international community should urge all parties in Syria to end hostilities without delay and work unremittingly to reach an agreement on the relevant issues through peace talks.

The international community should continue to step up humanitarian relief to Aleppo. China welcomes the concrete initiatives taken by Russia and the Syrian Government to increase assistance to civilians and hopes that United Nations aid agencies will strengthen coordination with Russia and the Syrian Government to jointly ease the humanitarian situation in Syria, pursuant to the United Nations principles governing humanitarian assistance. Terrorist groups continue to launch attacks in Aleppo and other areas, causing civilian casualties and blocking humanitarian efforts, which calls for greater coordination by the international community to resolutely combat by uniform standards all the terrorist groups designated by the Security Council.

How things transpire and evolve in Aleppo, as a subset of the Syrian issue, is part and parcel of the grand scheme of things pertaining to the question of Syria. A comprehensive solution to de-escalate the situation in Aleppo lies in an effort to remain seized of the big picture in Syria, to hold fast to the prospect of a political settlement as the overarching direction, to give full play to the United Nations in its role as the main channel of mediation and to continue supporting the work of Special Envoy De Mistura towards the early resumption of the Geneva talks.

Any action taken by the Council on the question of Syria must be truly conducive to de-escalation, to pushing all parties in Syria to an immediate cessation of hostilities in support of, and in cooperation with, United Nations humanitarian efforts, and to facilitating a Syrian-owned and Syrian-led political process under the good offices of the United Nations, so that a solution that is acceptable to all parties may be reached. The parties should demonstrate their goodwill, meet one another half way, build mutual trust and jointly strive towards achieving a comprehensive, fair and proper solution to the question of Syria.

Suggest to a friend
  Print