Chinese envoy urges twin approach over Syrian crisis

The fight against terrorism in Syria needs to continue in parallel with pushing for the cease-fire between Syrian government and opposition, Chinese special envoy Xie Xiaoyan said in Brussels on Wednesday.

Speaking at a news conference at the Chinese mission to the EU, Xie stressed that the international community should continue to apply the same and unified standard when striking all terrorist organizations listed by the United Nations.

Despite the fact that the Islamic State group was defeated in Syria, he said, there are other groups of terrorists in the country and the neighboring regions.

The breeding ground of terrorists and radicalism has not yet been uprooted, he said, adding that the fight would take quite a long time.

Xie was in Brussels attending a two-day international conference on the future of Syria co-hosted by the European Union and the UN.

The conference, aiming to pump financial aid for Syrians and garner political support for UN-led Syria peace talks, brought together participants from more than 85 countries and organizations at ministerial level, as well as those from more than 200 nongovernmental organization.

Xie said China is deeply concerned about the worsening situation in Syria and urged the relevant parties to resolve the issues within the frame work of international law and through dialogue and consultations.

"We should stick to the direction of the political settlement. Military action will only bring more suffering to the Syrian people," he said,

To find a sustainable political solution, he said, there must be respect for sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity of Syria and its people must decide the future of the country by themselves.

He said China has made consistent and persistent efforts in search of a political solution to the Syrian crisis.

He said China has kept contacts with various parties from different sides.

"Since November, we have received both government and opposition delegations from Syria.

"Our message is simple and clear: Encourage the parties to reconcile their differences and engage in dialogue and negotiations," he said.

Though it's unrealistic to see a breakthrough in the short term due to gaping differences on so many issues, Xie said it's important for relevant parties to keep the momentum of dialogue.

"Every cloud has a silver lining. We firmly believe that there is always a way out for the Syrian crisis," he said.

When it comes to China's role in humanitarian aid to Syria, he said China "is never absent".

"Since the start of the crisis, China has provided multiple humanitarian assistance in the form of goods or in cash through bilateral or multilateral channels, totaling 740 million yuan ($117 million)," said the special envoy, adding that China will "continue to do so within our command".

Xinhua and Reuters contributed to this story.