China defends veto of Syria resolution

Feb 6, 2012, 5:45 GMT

Beijing - State media on Monday defended China's decision to join Russia in vetoing a United Nations Security Council resolution on Syria, a move that US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton called a 'travesty.'

A commentary in People's Daily, the official newspaper of the ruling Communist Party, said China had acted 'responsibly' and in the interests of the Syrian people by using its right of veto as a permanent member of the Security Council.

The situation in Syria was 'extremely complex,' the commentary said, adding that support for one side in the current conflict could 'sow fresh seeds of disaster.'

The English-language China Daily newspaper quoted experts as saying the veto by China and Russia would 'win more time for a political solution to the crisis.'

'If the draft resolution was passed by the UN and President Assad refuses to transfer power, Syria would become a second Libya within two months,' it quoted Dong Manyuan of the China Institute of International Studies as saying.

'To push through a vote when parties are still seriously divided over the issue will not help maintain the unity and authority of the Security Council, or help properly resolve the issue,' Li Baodong, China's ambassador to the United Nations, said earlier.

Li said China believed that 'sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity of Syria should be fully respected.'

Clinton on Sunday said that United States would press for further sanctions against Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's regime, warning that continued repression could 'escalate into a brutal civil war.'

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