Chinese envoy urges collective efforts to alleviate humanitarian crisis in Syria

UNITED NATIONS, March 21 (Xinhua) -- A Chinese envoy on Thursday urged the international community to make collective efforts to alleviate humanitarian crisis in Syria, and promote a political solution to the Syrian issue.

"Thanks to the joint efforts by the Syrian Government and the UN, the border crossings for aid delivery are now operating effectively. We urge parties concerned to actively cooperate to facilitate cross-line deliveries," Geng Shuang, China's deputy permanent representative to the United Nations, told the UN Security Council briefing on Syria.

He called on the international community to scale up its humanitarian assistance to Syria, provide adequate and unearmarked financial support to early recovery projects throughout Syria.

"Unilateral sanctions and resource plunder have long hindered the economic recovery, social development, and improvement of people's livelihoods in Syria. We urge relevant countries to immediately cease these unlawful acts. Foreign forces should immediately end their illegal military presence in Syria," said the envoy.

The envoy noted that the recent Arab League foreign ministers meeting reaffirmed its abiding commitment to the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Syria and its objection to any external interference.

"We are of the view that support from regional countries can give new impetus to the political settlement of Syrian issue. We welcome UN special envoy for Syria Geir Pedersen's broad engagements with all parties on the implementation of resolution 2254," he said.

He underscored that the international community should uphold the Syrian-led and Syrian-owned principle and encourage dialogue and consultation, so as to find a solution acceptable to all parties.

"Terrorism is a persistent threat to the political process in Syria. We welcome the measures taken by the Syrian Government to fight terrorism and maintain security and stability. The international community must fight all terrorism in Syria with zero tolerance," the envoy added.

Geng said that since the outbreak of the current round of Palestinian-Israeli conflict, Israel, over the occupied Golan Heights and the Blue Line, has launched frequent airstrikes against various locations in Syria in grave violation of Syria's sovereignty and territorial integrity.

"China is deeply concerned about this. Against the backdrop of ongoing Palestinian-Israeli conflict, all parties must exercise restraint, avoid exacerbating tensions, prevent hot-spots feeding off each other and the spread of conflict. Major countries outside the region should play a constructive role in deescalating the situation."

Geng urged the international community to redouble its collective efforts to manage the conflict in Gaza and leverage the unconditional Ramadan ceasefire as an entry point to push for a permanent ceasefire, thereby injecting more positive energy into peace and stability in the Middle East, including in Syria.