China says confidence, patience, sincerity, will maintain ceasefire in Syria

BEIJING - China on Tuesday called on parties in Syria to maintain their hard-earned ceasefire, as it would help to create a positive environment for conflict resolution.

Foreign Ministry spokesman Hong Lei made the remarks when asked to comment on a telephone conversation between Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and his US counterpart John Kerry on Monday, in which they discussed the cease-fire.

During the conversation, both sides stressed that the only hostility in Syria should be against the terrorist cells in the war-torn country, the Russian Foreign Ministry said in an online statement.

Moscow and Washington, as co-chairs of the International Syria Support Group, vowed to take further steps to prepare for more talks on a political settlement of the five-year-long crisis, the statement added.

Hong expressed his concern over the deteriorating situation and violence in some parts of Syria, particularly civilian casualties.

The ceasefire is an important guarantee of the political process in Syria and peace talks in Geneva, Hong said.

The spokesperson noted that China would support those directly-involved parties to strengthen coordination and formulate concrete plans.

The latest round of negotiations, which ended on April 27 with some progress, were bogged down by the differences of those participating partners. The exact date for the next round of talks is expected to be announced later this month.

Peace talks are the only way to resolve the Syrian issue, Hong said.

Although there have been difficulties and setbacks, peace talks are the only path toward a solution that accommodates the fundamental interests of the Syrian people, as well as long-lasting peace and stability in the region, Hong said.

Hong called for confidence from international communities, patience from relevant parties and sincerity from negotiators to continue peace talks.

China supported the efforts from the UN Special Envoy for Syria Staffan de Mistura, Hong said, calling on the relevant parties to resume dialogue and peace talks in Geneva as soon as possible.

"China is willing to work with the international community to promote a political settlement for the Syrian issue at an early date," Hong said.