China considers political negotiations to be the right and only practical way to resolve the Syrian problem, according to Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Hua Chunying.
China welcomes the meeting of negotiators on settling a conflict in Syria which may happen in the Kazakh capital of Astana, Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Hua Chunying said Tuesday.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has said earlier that he agreed with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan to suggest that conflicting parties in Syria should continue the process of peace talks at the new platform in Astana. Kazakhstan President Nursultan Nazarbayev during phone talks with Putin and Erdogan supported this initiative and expressed readiness to provide a platform for such negotiations in the Kazakh capital.
“China welcomes all efforts which may lead to the quickest renewal of the peace talks. We hope that all parties in Syria may broaden the areas of common interest, decrease the difference in approaches in order to take into account the interests of the country and its people, to reach political agreement through dialogue and consultations,” Hua said.
She added that at the moment the main issue to be discussed was reaching ceasefire at the national level.
“All relevant parties in Syria should work on reaching a nationwide ceasefire which is an important guarantee for political resolution of the problem,” Hua said.
According to the spokeswoman, China considers political negotiations to be the right and only practical way to resolve the Syrian problem.
An armed conflict in Syria started in March 2011. Government forces are fighting various groups of militants. According to the United Nations, about 300,000 Syrians were killed in the conflict. From September 30, 2015 Russia, at the request of Syrian President Bashar Assad, started conducting aerial attacks against terrorists.