Temporary truce in Syria a silver lining

BEIJING - Nineteen-months into the conflict, a rare chance has come for Syria to stop all violence and begin political dialogue to put the unrest-stricken Middle East country back on track.

UN-Arab League peace envoy Lakhdar Brahimi has said both the government of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and most of the opposition groups have agreed to his proposal for a Muslim holiday ceasefire.

If all goes well, the ceasefire will be announced on Thursday, giving a few days of peace to the war-torn country at least during the Islamic holiday Eid al-Adha.

Syria watchers hope the brief truce between Assad's government and various rebel groups will be the first step toward a possible sustainable cessation of all violence in the country.

A clear-cut pledge for peace from both sides in Syria has so far seemed impossible given struggling efforts by former peace envoy Kofi Annan to persuade Assad as well as the oppositions to halt violence immediately.

Rebel groups complain that any ceasefire will only be followed by new rounds of military attacks from the government, while Assad blames the international community for increasing weaponry support for the oppositions if the government lays down arms.

Deep mistrust between the conflicting sides have led to incessant shelling and bombing in Syria, killing around 30,000 people since the outbreak of the crisis, the United Nations says.

Now that international mediation efforts have somewhat managed to break the deadlock, both Assad and the oppositions should seize the opportunity to stop fighting and come back to the negotiation table.

That is the only way out of the Syrian crisis. The quicker both sides nod to Brahimi's plan for political transition, the lesser the Syrian people will suffer from the outrageous bloodshed, and the easier Syria will get out of its myriad political and economic troubles.

Meanwhile, the international community, particularly those countries backing the Syrian rebels, must stop shipping military support for the oppositions and abandon their interventionist mindset.

Instead of meddling in the affairs of other countries, they should work for peace and respect the wills of the Syrian people, leaving the Syrians themselves to decide the future of their country.

China has always urged for a proper solution to the Syrian crisis. Like many other countries in the world, it hails Brahimi's plan and wishes all sides in Syria show their utmost sincerity and take concrete actions to support the proposal, so as to pave the way for a longer-term ceasefire and an ultimate political dialogue to end the crisis.