China renews call for respecting Syria’s sovereignty and territorial integrity

China has renewed its call for respecting Syria’s sovereignty and territorial integrity and for not interfering in its internal affairs.

“Syria’s sovereignty, independence, unity and territorial integrity  as well as the Syrian people’s right to subsistence and growth, must all be recognized and protected,” Xinhua News Agency quoted Minister of the Chinese Permanent Mission to the United Nations office in Geneva Jiang Duan as saying on Friday during a session for the UN Human Rights Council.

He added “the fact that the crisis in Syria has lingered until now demonstrates that external interference, provocation of confrontation, pressure, and sanctions will only cause deep suffering to any country.”

 The Chinese diplomat pointed out that the illegal unilateral coercive measures against Syria have wreaked havoc on the country’s human rights and humanitarian situation, stressing that this should serve as a powerful lesson for the international community, particularly the United States and the United Kingdom which are responsible for the suffering of the Syrian people.

He clarified that the air strikes conducted by the U.S. and the UK and others on Syria have resulted in a substantial number of civilian deaths and displacement.

The U.S. has launched more than 90,000 air attacks in Syria and other countries over the last two decades, killing up to 48,000 civilians.

Hamda Mustafa