Chinese, Russian pledge joint efforts for political solution in Syria

CHINA and Russia on Thursday pledged to make joint efforts to seek a political solution to the ongoing Syrian issue as the two countries’ foreign ministers held talks in Beijing.During a news conference after their talks, Chinese Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi and his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov reiterated the two nations’ support in the six-point plan for peace in Syria proposed by the UN-Arab League joint special envoy for Syria, Kofi Annan. Annan is working to bring an early end to the Syrian crisis which began in March 2011.The two foreign ministers made the remarks after two blasts rocked Syria’s capital Damascus earlier in the day, killing 55 people. “To appropriately address the Syrian issue, all sides concerned should respect Syria’s independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity,” Yang said, adding that the development path of Syria should be decided by the Syrian people on their own. Yang called for more efforts to persuade both the Syrian government and the opposition into honoring their words on ceasefire and starting a process of political dialogue at an early date. The two ministers urged “outside forces” to stop disturbing Annan’s work and instigating new conflicts in Syria.