Beijing Ready to Cooperate with Russia on Reconstruction in Syria: China Envoy

 MOSCOW, (ST)- China’s Special Envoy for Syria Xie Xiaoyan has expressed his country’s readiness to work with relevant countries including Russia in the post-war reconstruction efforts in Syria.

“China is positive about taking part in post-war reconstruction in Syria, and we are ready to cooperate with Russia and other relevant parties,” Xie told the Russian Sputnik news agency, after talks on Thursday with the Russian Foreign Ministry’s special envoy for Middle East settlement Sergei Vershinin.

 Xie said “Russia is a big strategic partner of China and Beijing is ready to regularly exchange viewpoints with the Russian side on the issue of reaching political solution to the crisis in Syria.”

 He hailed Russia’s great efforts in fighting terrorism and in supporting intra-Syrian dialogue.  

The Chinese envoy expressed China’s respect for the will of the Syrian people, noting that Syria’s future is “purely an internal affair.”

In his statement to Sputnik, Xie said the political process to resolve the crisis in Syria is continuing despite a number of setbacks that are “natural” in the diplomatic context.

“Although now the political process might be slow, it has not been put on hold and the negotiations are continuing,” Xie added.

The Chinese diplomat noted that the crisis “did not crop up overnight, so we should not expect to solve it overnight.”

He reaffirmed the United Nations’ role as the main channel of mediation and called on all parties to engage in inclusive dialogue to find a solution, according to the Russian agency.

Hamda Mustafa