South Africa on Thursday reiterated that the Syrian crisis cannot be solved by military means, warning that the collapse of Syria will adversely affect regional stability in the Middle East.

The statement came as Baso Sangqu, the South African permanent representative to the United Nations, was taking the floor at an open meeting of the UN Security Council on the humanitarian situation in Syria, where the political crisis have been going on for some 18 months.

"South Africa reiterates that the situation in Syria cannot be solved by military means or by assisting one side militarily and otherwise to defeat the other," he said. "Perhaps it is appropriate, given the allegation that some are arming the opposition, to ask the question: Is the arming of the opposition in Syria not indirect military intervention?"

"We contend that a military approach may be convenient in the short term, but it will surely expose the country's fault lines and result in an unending civil strife, as we have witnessed in other situations where solutions of this nature were pursued without taking into account the internal political dynamics and contexts," he said.

"Needlessly to say, the collapse of Syria will certainly adversely affect regional stability in the Middle East and even spark a dangerous and undesirable struggle for regional harmony," he said.

"Any tilting of the proverbial political scales in favor of one country or a particular grouping of countries in the Middle East will certainly unleash a geo-political crisis with the potential to further destabilize an already unstable and fragile region."

"We are already seeing the impact of the Syrian crisis on neighboring countries in particular Lebanon where the sectarian fault lines are being exposed," he said.

"Whilst today's meeting is focused on the humanitarian situation, it is essential that we remain fully engaged in pursuing a sustainable political solution in Syria," he said.