SANA: China Reaffirms Opposition to Foreign Interference in Syria

Syrian Foreign Minister Walid Muallem on Thursday held talks with China's special envoy for the Middle East who reaffirmed his country's opposition to foreign interference in Syria, the official Syrian news agency SANA said.

Muallem and envoy Wu Sike met in Damascus for talks during which they spoke of "the relations of solid friendship" between their countries.

The Syrian minister explained "the current situation, measures taken by Syrian leaders to respond to the legitimate demands of its citizens, and efforts made to implement reforms," the news agency said.

China's envoy reaffirmed the "pursuit of cooperation between the two countries within international bodies" as well as its "opposition to attempts to interfere in Syrian affairs."

Syria has been shaken since mid-March by an unprecedented protest movement against the regime of President Bashar al-Assad. More than 3,000 people have been killed by the regime's crackdown on the protests, according to the United Nations.

Russia and China -- permanent members of the U.N. Security Council -- on October 4 vetoed a Western proposed resolution threatening the Syrian leadership with "targeted measures" unless it halted the bloody repression of protesters.

More recently, China asked Syria to speed up promised reforms.