China calls for political solution to Syria issue: envoy

UNITED NATIONS, March 19 (Xinhua) -- China supports a Syrian-led and Syrian-owned political process to resolve the Syria issue, and encourages all parties to engage in inclusive dialogue and advance political reconciliation, Fu Cong, China's permanent representative to the United Nations, said Wednesday.

In remarks at the UN Security Council briefing on Syria, Fu said the past month saw positive developments in Syria and the country's northeast, adding that outstanding issues in Syria must ultimately be resolved through political means.

Fu underscored the importance of combating terrorism and maintaining security, given terrorism's grave threat to regional peace and security. He called on the Syrian transitional government to fulfill its obligations and take effective measures to combat international terrorist organizations identified by the Security Council.

"China firmly opposes terrorism in all its forms and rejects any double standards in counter-terrorism efforts," he said.

On Syria's humanitarian situation, the ambassador called on traditional donors to scale up their humanitarian assistance to Syria, where 16.5 million people are in urgent need of aid and 7.1 million face food insecurity.

Fu also called on relevant countries to take further measures to mitigate the negative impact of unilateral sanctions on Syria to ensure its economy recovers.

Fu said discussion of the situation in Syria cannot be detached from the broader regional context, and any further protraction of hostilities in the region will only inflict even more suffering upon the local population and impinge heavily on the regional and global economies.

The entire Middle East is being plunged into a dangerous precipice, and China calls for an immediate cessation of hostilities to prevent the conflict from spreading further, he said.

"China stays committed to playing a constructive role in the pursuit of peace," Fu added.