Chinese Middle East envoy says China's vetoes earlier this month of two United Nations resolutions calling on Syrian President Bashar al-Assad to stand down, are, in the long term, in the interests of the Syrian people. Wu Sike is currently in the region for a 3-nation tour. CRI's Shen Chengcheng has the story.
Wu Sike says China's decision to veto two UN resolutions on Syria is not partial to a certain side.
China has also been taking the Syrian people's interests into consideration:
"We made the decisions based on China's peaceful diplomatic policies. We are still concerned about the situation in that region, we hope the unrest there could be solved through dialogue, and that's our policy. If big conflicts were to break out in the region, military conflicts for example, it would be a huge disaster for the people involved, the region involved, and it would have a negative impact on the world peace as well."
Meantime, Wu Sike has also told CRI that, China's vetoes are to protect the interest of developing countries.
"When we bring the Syrian issue to the United Nations, we need to first make sure it will comply with UN principles, one of which is to not to interfere with other countries' internal affairs. If this principle was broken, it would be dangerous for the international community in the future, because, whenever an opposition starts in a country, other countries would then have a reason to interfere and that would make the problem more complicated. So China needs to keep that principle. "
Wu says the stance is also supported by Syria's opposition groups.
Wu says opposition leaders have told him they are against foreign military interference in Syria.
Instead, he suggests China maintains its position that Syria should end all acts of violence against civilians and resort to peaceful means to solve the crisis.
A stance Wu says, is shared by the Arab League:
"China still emphasizes the importance of the Arab League to solve the Syrian issues and some regional issues as well, and that stand has not been changed."
Wu Sike says relations between China and the Arab League would not change after China vetoed the two resolutions tabled by the League.