Integrated approach needed for Syria's sovereignty, security, development: Chinese UN envoy

UNITED NATIONS, Jan. 27 (Xinhua) -- A Chinese envoy said on Wednesday that the international community needs to have an integrated approach for the major issues that endanger Syria's sovereignty, security and development.

"To truly make progress on the political track, the international community needs to have an integrated approach for the major issues that endanger Syria's sovereignty, security and development in order to create enabling conditions for the political process in the country," Zhang Jun, China's permanent representative to the United Nations, told the Security Council meeting on Syria.

Zhang added that China supports advancing the Syrian-led and Syrian-owned political process in accordance with resolution 2254. "We commend the efforts by special envoy (Geir) Pedersen in promoting mutual trust among parties to work in the same direction. We hope that the next round of Constitutional Committee will be launched soon, and it should be pointed out that relevant work should remain independent and free from external interference."

"We also welcome the new round of meetings of the Astana process last month, and hope that the process will continue to contribute to a comprehensive solution to the Syrian issue," said Zhang, adding that China has always emphasized that constitution-making and elections alone are not enough to solve the Syrian issue.

On Syria's sovereignty, Zhang underscored that no foreign troops are allowed to be deployed in Syria, including Golan ones, without the consent of the Syrian government.

"Whether it is the military operation across the Syrian border, the construction of settlements in the Golan area, or the theft of oil from northeastern Syria, they have all undermined the sovereignty of the country, violated the interests of the Syrian people and spoiled the efforts by the international community for political settlement," said Zhang.

Turning to the terrorism issue, the ambassador said that "we must respect the Syrian government's leadership in fighting terrorism. And we must not engage in a double standard. China is willing to strengthen communication and coordination with Syria to help it improve its capability in fighting terrorism."

Talking about cooperation among regional countries, Zhang said that "China welcomes the efforts by relevant regional countries to strengthen diplomatic, economic, and trade interactions with Syria and welcomes the fact that Arab countries are actively considering Syria's return to the League of Arab States."

Also at the meeting, the ambassador reiterated that "the consideration of the Syrian issue by the council three times a month does not facilitate an integrated and comprehensive perspective, and serious consideration should be given to combining them into one meeting or making other more reasonable arrangements. This will not only help us seek a package solution to relevant issues, but also reduce the use of council resources."