Iran Can Play Constructive Role to Settle Syria Crisis: China’s FM
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – China’s Foreign Minister Wang Yi said Iran can play a “constructive” role in the political resolution of the Syrian crisis.
"All parties should abandon military methods in order to settle the Syrian issue by political means," Yi said in a Thursday meeting with Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif on the sidelines of the International Syria Support Group (ISSG) in Munich, the Tass news agency reproted on Friday.
"We hope Iran will play here an active and constructive role," the Chinese foreign minister added.
The ISSG meeting, aimed at finding a solution to the nearly five years of conflict in Syria, started work in Munich on Thursday.
Ministers at Thursday's talks wrangled over three core issues: a gradual cessation of hostilities with a firm end date, humanitarian access to cities being besieged by both sides and a commitment that Syrian parties return to Geneva for political negotiations.
Diplomatic delegations from Iran, Saudi Arabia, China, Egypt, France, Germany, Iraq, Italy, Jordan, Lebanon, Oman, Qatar, Russia, Turkey, the United Arab Emirates, the UK, the US as well as the Arab League, the European Union and the United Nations are attending the Munich talks.
Syria’s main opposition group welcomed the plan reached at the meeting, saying it should prove to be effective before it joins the talks that are expected to resume later this month.
A new report by the so-called Syrian Center for Policy Research (SCPR) has put the number of fatalities caused directly and indirectly by the foreign-backed militancy in Syria at 470,000.
The NGO says the figure is far higher than that of the UN - 260,000 - because the world body stopped collecting statistics 18 months ago.
The report also estimates that in all 11.5 percent of Syria’s population have been killed or injured since the crisis erupted in March 2011.