Ibrahimi Urges China to Play Active Role in Syria Crisis

Local Editor

International peace envoy to Syria al-Akhdar Ibrahimi urged on Wednesday China to play an active role in helping to end violence in Syria.

Ibrahimi's statements came as he met Chinese Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi for talks in Beijing.
Greeting Yang at the foreign ministry in front of reporters, Ibrahimi said he hoped "China can play an active role in solving the events in Syria" without elaborating further.

China is generally suspicious of intervention in the internal affairs of other nations, with state media last month accusing Western powers of hampering efforts to end the conflict.
Both China and Russia have exercised their veto in the UN Security Council to block resolutions against Syria.
Meeting Ibrahimi on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York last month, Yang reaffirmed this stance, saying that "political dialogue is the only correct way to tackle this issue."
"Any political transition must be led by the people of Syria and not imposed by outside forces," he said.
Yang also thanked Ibrahimi for his work and said he hoped their discussions -- their third in two months -- would promote "mutual understanding" and "the appropriate handling of the Syrian issue".

Ibrahimi's visit to China, which ends Wednesday, came after he met Russia's foreign minister in Moscow on Monday and described the conflict in Syria, as going from bad to worse.

Source: News Agencies, Edited by moqawama.org