China Considers Sending Observers to Syria
China said Thursday it was considering sending observers to monitor a Syrian ceasefire that came into force last week but is under threat as violence escalates.
"China is earnestly looking into whether to send observers to Syria or not," foreign ministry spokesman Liu Weimin told reporters at a regular briefing.
His comments come after French President Nicolas Sarkozy said China and Russia were currently isolated on the Syrian issue, but predicted the two countries would eventually join the rest of the international community against Damascus.
China and Russia both drew international criticism earlier this year for vetoing two U.N. Security Council resolutions on the Syria crisis which were critical of President Bashar Assad.
The two countries have since backed U.N. special envoy Kofi Annan's efforts to bring peace to Syria in the form of a six-point proposal agreed by Damascus that includes the ceasefire and withdrawal of troops.
But there have been reports of fresh violence in Syria -- where over 9,000 people have died in the past 13 months of fighting -- despite the ceasefire.
A small advance U.N. mission has been dispatched to Syria to monitor the ceasefire, but U.N. chief Ban Ki-moon has called for 300 unarmed observers to be sent to the conflict-torn country.
Meanwhile, foreign ministers from 14 countries are gathering in Paris on Thursday to discuss Syria in a meeting that China is not expected to attend.
In an earlier interview with Europe 1 radio, Sarkozy said China and Russia "do not like being isolated".
"And when we gather the major countries to say 'here is the direction we are going in', with our Arab allies, Russia and China's isolation on the Syria question will not last," he said.
Source: Agence France Presse
| Copyright © 2012 Naharnet.com. All Rights Reserved. | https://naharnet.com/stories/en/37321 |