China supports deal by US and Russia to eliminate chemical arms

Dozens of Syrians staged a sit-in on Tuesday before the Syrian Cabinet building in Damascus to express support for the recent Russian initiative to strip Syria of its chemical arsenal.

"As Syrian people, we welcome the international decision to place the chemical weapons under (international) observation, because since the beginning of the crisis in Syria, we have been against the use of chemical weapons," Majdoline, a Syrian woman, told Xinhua News Agency during the sit-in.

Samir Batrony, a Syrian lawyer taking part in the sit-in, said, "The aggression is being demolished, the conspiracy is falling apart and Syria will not succumb."

Other participants hoisted the Syrian flag along with posters of President Bashar al-Assad and the late Egyptian leader, Gamal Abdel Nasser, a symbol of pan-Arabism in the Arab world.

The sit-in came a day after the UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon briefed the Security Council on a report from a fact-finding group looking into alleged use of chemical weapons in Syria on Aug 21.

The report confirmed that chemical weapons were used in Ghouta, Syria, without assigning blame to any particular party.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Hong Lei said on Tuesday that China appreciates the UN report and will study it carefully.

"China attaches great importance to the UN report," Hong said.

Hong said China's stance on the use of chemical weapons is consistent and clear.

"China opposes any use of chemical weapons and strongly condemns the use of chemical weapons in Syria," he said, noting that China supports the UN fact-finding group in continuing its work in Syria.

He said China welcomes the framework agreement reached by the United States and Russia on Saturday to eliminate Syria's chemical weapons.

Hong also said China supports the destruction of chemical weapons in Syria within the UN framework and hopes that the political settlement process will be pushed forward at the same time.

Syria's Foreign Ministry said on Tuesday that talks about the political and constitutional legitimacy in Syria is an "exclusive" right of the Syrian people.

In a statement carried by the state-run SANA News Agency, the ministry said that the US and its allies cannot force their will on the Syrian people.

"In a new confirmation about the size of their involvement in the Syrian crisis and their feverish resolve to impose their will and agendas on the Syrian people, the foreign ministers of the US, France and Britain have tried to promote their contradictory stances through trying to reconcile their support for terrorism with their allegations about supporting the political process in Syria," the ministry said.

The ministry also accused Western powers of trying to wreck prospects for a negotiated settlement to the country's conflict by imposing preconditions on the peace process and supporting rebel fighters.

The comments, highlighting the precariousness of any international mediation between Syria's two warring parties, followed a meeting of foreign ministers from the US, France and Britain a day earlier, at which they agreed to seek a "tough" UN resolution against Syria over its use and stockpile of chemical weapons.

Last week, Russia proposed an initiative to strip Syria of its chemical weapons, in the hope of stripping Washington of its pretext to unleash a military strike against Syria over allegations that the government troops gassed civilians in the countryside of Damascus on Aug 21.

The administration of Assad denied the accusations, blaming the attacks on rebel fighters, particularly groups allied to al-Qaida. The Syrian government said rebels staged false-flag attacks using sarin gas supplied by neighboring countries allied to the US, particularly Saudi Arabia.

Syrian state television showed video footage of what they said were stockpiles of chemical weapons used by rebel groups to stage such attacks, as well as video of what appeared to be rebels firing gas cylinders attached to rockets.

The last-minute proposition by Russia was hailed by Damascus, which said it would surrender its chemical stock not because of fears of a possible US strike, but of its confidence in "Russia's wisdom".

Xinhua-Reuters

A Syrian refugee boy practices Taekwondo at the Zaatari refugee camp in Jordan on Tuesday. Children make up a majority of the camp, home to 120,000 Syrians who fled their country. Bela Szandelszky / Associated Press

(China Daily 09/18/2013 page11)