Al-Jaafari: Syria Welcomes Chinese Active Role in Syria’s Political Process
GENEVA, (ST)- Head of the Syrian Arab Republic’s Delegation to the intra-Syrian talks in Geneva Bashar al-Jaafari and the Chinese Special Envoy for Syria Xie Xiaoyan in a meeting on Tuesday discussed the process of political settlement in Syria and ways to overcome the obstacles facing the continuity and progress of the indirect intra-Syrian talks in Geneva.
Dr. al-Jaafari welcomed the Chinese government’s decision to appoint a special envoy for Syria, stressing that the decision was an important step affirming “Beijing’s keenness on finding a solution to the crisis in Syria.”
“Syria is looking forward to benefiting from China’s important role in Syria’s political process,” al-Jaafari said.
He reiterated that fighting terrorism should be a priority to the entire world and that the existence of Uyghur terrorists within the ranks of “ISIS” and “Jabhat al-Nusra” makes the issue of combating terrorism a common goal for both Syria and China.
On the decision of the Riyadh-backed opposition (Riyadh opposition) to suspend their participation in Geneva dialogue, al-Jaafari said “the decision was made upon orders from the group’s Saudi employers because they don’t enjoy political independence”.
“They always resort to threats of postponement or walking out at the start of each round of indirect talks because they’re not serious and they don’t want to be engaged in the political process or make the peaceful solution a success,” he clarified.
Al-Jaafari pointed out that “Riyadh group includes extremists and Takfiris who embrace the Wahabi ideology, which forms a fertile soil for international terrorism, and who don’t believe in the secularism of the Syrian state.”
He stressed that the terrorist groups are the party which breaches the cessation of hostilities agreement as to poison the atmosphere of the talks in Geneva and block the political process. He added that this was proven by the provocative remarks made by some Riyadh group members calling for breaching the cessation of hostilities, attacking the Syrian Arab Army, and shelling the cities.
On his part, the Chinese envoy stressed the importance of maintaining coordination with Syria, particularly in terrorism fighting. He hailed Syria’s cooperation regarding the Uyghur terrorists fighting alongside terrorist groups in Syria.
Xie Xiaoyan underlined the need to continue the dialogue and to achieve progress in the current round of talks, reiterating China’s principled stance that respects Syria’s sovereignty, national unity and territorial integrity and that insists on the principle that the Syrians alone must decide Syria’s future.
Hamda Mustafa