China welcomes adoption of Security Council resolution on Syria

UNITED NATIONS - China has welcomed the adoption of a UN Security Council resolution on Syria, saying it reflected the unity of the council.

The council on Friday voted unanimously to adopt Resolution 2118 aimed at ridding Syria of chemical weapons. The vote came after the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW), an international chemical weapons watchdog, agreed on a plan to destroy Syria's stockpiles by mid-2014.

"We are heartened to see that the Security Council has just unanimously adopted Resolution 2118, bringing the Syrian situation back to the track of peace from the verge of war and presenting a new opportunity for seeking a political settlement of the Syrian issue," Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi told the council after the vote.

"This is the first time that the Security Council has taken a joint major action on the Syrian issue in more than one year," he said.

"In dealing with the Syrian issue, the Security Council must bear in mind the purposes and principles of the UN Charter, act with a sense of responsibility to the Syrian people, the world and history, and ensure that any decision it takes can stand the test of history," he said.

Wang said China welcomed the fact that the Syrian government joined the Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC) not long ago.

"Resolution 2118 has set out the overall objective of the destruction of chemical weapons in Syria and the roadmap for the follow-up work," he said.

"We hope that the relevant parties will stay in close cooperation, fulfil their respective responsibilities and implement the OPCW decision and Security Council resolution in a comprehensive and accurate manner so as to eventually achieve a proper settlement of the issue of chemical weapons in Syria," Wang said.

The top Chinese diplomat said neither Syria nor the Middle East region could afford another war, and political settlement was the only way out of the crisis.

He urged a cease-fire and cessation of violence in Syria as soon as possible, as well as efforts to put an end to the crisis through dialogue and to rebuild homes for Syrian people.

China hoped the international community would build consensus and promote the early convening of the Geneva II conference, he said.

As a permanent member of the Security Council, China stood ready to work with all parties and make unremitting efforts for comprehensive, proper and long-term settlement of the Syrian issue, he said.

After the session, Wang also briefed media at the UN headquarters in New York on the Chinese goverment's position on the Syrian conflict.