United Nations, 3 Mar (ZXS) -- The UN Security Council held an open meeting on political and humanitarian issues in Syria on 23 March. Geng Shuang, Deputy Permanent Representative of China to the United Nations, pointed out at the meeting that three obstacles need to be overcome to further improve humanitarian relief to Syria.
On the same day, the UN Secretary-General's Special Envoy for Syria, Pei Kairu, and the Acting Director of the Operations and Advocacy Division of the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, Tarahma, gave briefings. Pei said that Syria is facing an unprecedented situation, and all parties need to show leadership and cooperation in response to the crisis, and put forward bold ideas. Maintaining calm is very important to Syria, and the recent Israeli air strike on the Aleppo airport has affected humanitarian operations. Talrahema said rescue teams continue to clear debris in the area, and as needs continue to grow, Syria needs continued international support, including fundraising.
Geng Shuang said that since the powerful earthquake on February 2, the humanitarian situation in northwest Syria has always affected the hearts of the international community. Humanitarian assistance to Syria should be more organically integrated with post-disaster reconstruction. To that end, it was important to continue with the early recovery project. At the same time, we must realize that to further improve humanitarian relief to Syria, we need to overcome three obstacles.
Geng Shuang said: First, there has been no progress in the cross-line rescue in northwest Syria in the past month, and the UN Secretariat should make greater efforts to promote the cross-line rescue work, and report the problem to the Security Council in a timely manner to find a solution. Second, Aleppo airport is an important civilian infrastructure and a key hub for the transfer of humanitarian supplies, and its safe operation should be guaranteed. China expresses its concern over Israel's renewed air strike yesterday and hopes that similar situations will not be repeated and that Syria's sovereignty and territorial integrity must be respected. Third, after the strong earthquakes in Turkey and Syria, relevant countries announced the temporary relaxation or suspension of unilateral sanctions against Syria, but temporary measures cannot cover up the systemic damage caused by long-term unilateral sanctions. The countries concerned should immediately and unconditionally lift all illegal unilateral sanctions against Syria and stop artificially aggravating the humanitarian disaster.
Geng Shuang said that in terms of the political process in Syria, China supports the early resumption of the Constitutional Committee meeting in accordance with the principle of "Syrian-led and Syrian-owned". China welcomes the visit of the Syrian President to the United Arab Emirates and the meeting between the two heads of state, and also welcomes Tunisia's consideration of resuming diplomatic relations with Syria. China believes that the help from regional countries is conducive to providing assistance for the political settlement of the Syrian issue. China also calls on more countries to take active action to create a favorable external environment for the political settlement of the Syrian issue.
Geng Shuang said that the current security situation in Syria is still complicated, and the international community must combat all terrorism in Syria with zero tolerance. Any attempt to exploit terrorists will eventually be inceased and counterproductive. China once again urges foreign forces to end all illegal military presence in Syria and to stop plundering natural resources in Syria. (End)