China considers diplomatic offensive regarding Syria

Feb 7, 2012, 11:44 GMT

Beijing - China was planning a diplomatic offensive to address the crisis in Syria, the government said Tuesday, one day after it defended its veto of a UN Security Council resolution.

The Foreign Ministry was considering sending envoys to unnamed nations to discuss Syria, and aimed to play a 'constructive role in promoting the political settlement' of the crisis, spokesman Liu Weimin said.

'China has always maintained that all parties in Syria should stop the violence and resolve their issues through dialogue and coordination in order to defuse tension in the region,' Liu said.

China on Monday defended its decision to join Russia in vetoing a 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' 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 China Daily newspaper quoted analysts 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.

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

Read more about China

Read more about UN