Syrian envoy praises role of China, Russia

The stances of China and Russia on Syria are consistent with the United Nations Charter, international laws and ethical values, and are helpful to the peaceful resolution of the Syrian crisis, the Syrian president's top envoy said in Beijing on Wednesday.

"We're happy to see countries like China and Russia, who are not colonizers or deal with people as colonizers," Bouthaina Shaaban, political and media adviser to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, told China Daily. This is "a very different stance from the West", she added.

What happened in Libya cannot be repeated in Syria, and China's principles are helping to avoid civil war, which would cause more casualties, Shaaban said.

Shaaban, who is in Beijing this week for talks, is scheduled to meet Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi on Thursday.

The visit is to give "the Chinese leadership a real picture of what's going on in Syria" and coordinate with China to solve the current crisis that has taken thousands of people's lives, she said.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Qin Gang said on Monday that China is also considering inviting members of the Syrian opposition groups to visit Beijing.

The 18-month crisis is estimated to have affected 2 million people and displaced more than 1 million, Valerie Amos, the UN undersecretary-general for humanitarian affairs and emergency relief coordinator, said on Tuesday in Syria.

Shaaban said the "most dangerous, rigid and harmful sanctions" issued by the West have affected the health sector and the lives of ordinary Syrian civilians, and the West is worsening the situation by "supporting with arms and money people who are inciting the civil war in Syria".

The Syrian government reiterated its commitment to the six-point peace plan of outgoing UN-Arab League envoy Kofi Annan after his resignation on Aug 2, but conflicts continue in parts of the country, with the reported involvement of heavy weapons, which the opposition groups also possess.

The six-point plan should be translated "into real action, not just talk", Shaaban said.

Opposition groups have the support of regional forces, and officials in those forces are putting their personal careers at stake, she added.

But she does not agree with using the word "opposition" to define people "who are carrying arms and emboldened by external powers to kidnap, kill and destroy public institutions", saying opposition groups in Syria have no backing among the Syrian people when being financed by different sources.

Some members of the so-called opposition parties have joined the government and parliament over the past year, according to Shaaban. But the government's readiness to talk with opposition figures and Annan's mediation efforts have been frustrated because these groups are financed by certain powers and are "not allowed to talk to the government".

She said Syria has been subjected to foreign intervention that prevents any dialogue, and warned that this deadlock will put not only Syria but the entire region in danger.

She also refuted allegations that the authority blocks the access of international humanitarian aid to the conflict-torn country, saying nothing from different organizations has arrived in Syria, despite the government's expression of its desire for aid during many meetings with them.

Shaaban said she believes that the opposition and external powers, who do not understand the nature of the Syrian people, have "locked themselves into a corner" by calling for Assad to resign as a pretext to solving the Syrian crisis.

Contact the writers at lilianxing@chinadaily.com.cn and zhaoshengnan@chinadaily.com.cn