China condemns any use of chemical weapons, but revisions are needed on a new UN resolution on Syria, China’s foreign ministry said Thursday after the resolution failed to secure enough backing in the Security Council.
China abstained in the vote on Wednesday. The draft resolution, brought by Britain, France and the US, called for those responsible for the attack on the Syrian town of Khan Sheikhoun on April 4 to be identified and brought to justice, and demanded the Syrian government to cooperate with an investigation into the attack.
Ten of the 15 countries on the Council voted in favor of the draft but with a veto by permanent Council member Russia, it automatically failed.
Members of the UN Security Council hold a vote on a draft resolution demanding the Syrian government to cooperate with an investigation of the suspected chemical attack last week in Idlib Province on April 12, 2017, in New York City. /CFP Photo
“The draft resolution contained a number of elements that China supports, such as condemning the suspected use of chemical weapons in Syria and demanding an investigation into the incident,” Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesman Lu Kang told a daily press briefing in Beijing on Thursday.
“But some of the content in the draft resolution can be revised for it to be unanimously agreed on, so China had to abstain in the vote on this draft resolution."
Lu said China condemned the suspected chemical attacks in Syria and firmly opposed the use of chemicals as weapons by any country, organization or person under any circumstances.
He added that Beijing supports the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) in conducting an independent and comprehensive probe into last week’s attack to reach conclusions based on substantive evidence that can "stand the test of time and facts."
A political settlement is the only right way to resolve the Syrian crisis, Lu added, and China calls on the international community to push for a solution to the Syrian crisis through dialogue with all the parties in Syria.
Earlier on Thursday, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said a political settlement is the "only reliable and right way" to handle the Syrian conflict, after meeting with his Palestinian counterpart, Riyad al-Maliki, in Beijing.
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