Chinese UN envoy: Syria should decide own course

Geng Shuang, China's deputy permanent representative to the United Nations, reiterated his country's position on the Syrian peace process during a Security Council virtual meeting Thursday on Syria.

"China's position on the Syrian issue is consistent. We support a 'Syrian-led, Syrian-owned' political process from the very beginning," said Ambassador Geng.

"We encourage and support the special envoy to make every effort to promote political dialogue and enhance mutual trust among parties concerned," Geng said. "We hope the secretary-general and special envoy's cease-fire appeals will be accepted by all parties to the conflict so as to foster an enabling environment for negotiations."

The ambassador said China is pleased to learn that Constitutional Committee will hold its third-round meeting by the end of August.

"We look forward to seeing more progress in this round of consultation. It could become a window of opportunity if the Syrian parties engage constructively with each other and with the UN special envoy under the Constitutional Committee framework," he said.

Geng said China welcomed the convening of the Astana virtual summit on July 1 and the joint statement released by Iran, Russia and Turkey afterward.

He said the joint statement contains many positive elements with regard to Syria, such as standing against separatist agendas, opposing illegal seizure and transfer of Syrian oil revenues and rejecting all unilateral sanctions, among others issues.

"China would be happy to see the Astana Process continuing to contribute to the political process in Syria," he added.

With regard to the economic situation in Syria, Geng said China is deeply concerned by the bleak picture depicted by the special envoy in his briefing, noting that the devaluation of Syria's currency and the soaring price of food exacerbates the existing grave humanitarian situation.

The UN World Food Programme and the UN Food and Agriculture Organization have repeatedly sounded the alarm on food insecurity in Syria.

Geng said the reason behind the sufferings of the Syrian people is self-evident.

"Years of economic blockade and illegal sanctions have worsened the socioeconomic and humanitarian situations in Syria, undermined the livelihoods of the Syrian people and caused tremendous hardships to innocent civilians, in particular women and children," he said.

"At this critical time, the unilateral sanctions further compromised the capacity of Syria to ensure access to food, essential health supplies and medical support to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic," he said. "This is against humanity and totally unacceptable."

Geng said it is a must for the international community to take actions to help the Syrian government cope with the economic and humanitarian challenges.

"We urge relevant countries to respond actively to the appeals of the secretary-general and his special envoy on lifting unilateral sanctions immediately," Geng said. "We also request that OCHA (UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs) assess the humanitarian impact of unilateral sanctions as an integral part of humanitarian reports."

Geng added that those who claim that unilateral sanctions have not harmed Syria should join China and other countries in requesting a report by the secretary-general on the issue.

Geng said China welcomes efforts by relevant parties to maintain the cease-fire and promote stability in Syria.

"The international community must be alerted and keep an eye on the terrorist activities in northwest Syria. We should not allow terrorist groups to take advantage of the current situation," he said.

Geng said the Security Council should support the special envoy's call for effective, cooperative and targeted counterterrorism efforts.

"We call on relevant parties to launch negotiations and take concrete actions on counterterrorism," he said.

Geng said the future of Syria must be decided by the Syrians, without foreign interference, adding that it is fundamental to respect and uphold the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Syria.

He said China will continue to support the good offices of the special envoy in fulfilling his mandate endorsed by Security Council Resolution 2254 and work with the international community for a lasting peace in Syria.