China’s Special Envoy for Syria Xie Xiaoyan and his UN counterpart Staffan de Mistura held talks at the Palace of Nations on Monday in Geneva, Switzerland, to exchange views on ending the crisis through political means.
At a joint press conference after their meeting, Xie said the opportunity of ending the crisis politically has emerged thanks to the joint efforts made by the international community over the past six months. The latest peace talks in Geneva has proven to be effective despite both sides still having differences on some key issues.
China backs the efforts to end the crisis through dialogue and has urged the involved parties to manage their differences and seek consensus in a gradual and logical fashion to ensure that the negotiations can continue to be effective and sustainable, said Xie.
Xie praised the efforts made by the UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and de Mistura in mediating the crisis in Syria.
“I’ve found that there are a lot of views in common between China and the United Nations, the UN special envoy to Syria and myself. We will keep close contact in the future, and exchange our opinions and views in order to push for the progress of the negotiations through joint efforts,” said Xie.
De Mistura said Xie is a veteran diplomat who has been designated with an important job, and his meeting with Xie is very useful to his mediation efforts.
“China has always been a strong supporter of the UN’s role in the crisis in Syria, and we are looking forward to an even more intense engagement which has already been constant, particularly in the fact that the role of the UN in trying to combine effectively the two elements: humanitarian aid, cessation of hostilities, with the political dialogue. And we had a very useful meeting about how China can even more effectively support that,” said de Mistura.
Xie’s meeting with de Mistura came as the Syrian government and opposition held their third talks on Monday in Geneva.
Xie said his designation has delivered a message that China wants to be more active in participating in the international efforts to end the crisis.
“China hopes to play a more effective role in mediating this problem that concerns regional andworld peace and stability, while also providing Chinese wisdom and solutions, ideas and initiatives,” said Xie.