US and its allies are pushing Syria into civil war by backing the armed opposition, a Chinese newspaper writes. The article asserts that Beijing must stick to opposing violence in Damascus.
“If Western countries continue to fully support Syria’s opposition, then in the end a large-scale civil war will erupt and there will be no way to thus avoid the possibility of foreign armed intervention,” a foreign affairs expert Qu Xing wrote in the piece as cited by Reuters
The article asserts if the UN Security Council had passed the resolution backing the Arab League’s call for Assad to step down, that would only have lead to more violence.
[Small insert by The 4th Media, borrowing the words of Strategic Culture Foundation,
“From a wider perspective, the whole range of developments in Syria evokes a sense of deja vu. In an epoch that has not completely sunk into oblivion, the US and British intelligence agencies put together the Taliban movement which was supposed to counter the Soviet forces in Afghanistan. The Jikhadists were given arms, heavily funded, and allowed to act without restraint, downright terrorism being among admissible options. Eventually Al Qaeda, known to be a product of Anglo-Saxon policies, established itself as a monster capable of taking thousands of lives, including those of US citizens. Such is the longer storyline behind the drama of September 11.”]
“Assad would have had his back up against the wall with all means of retreat cut off, and the opposition would have been encouraged to press steadily forward. Clashes would have been even worse than they are now,” writes Qu Xing.
The article follows a visit by one of Beijing’s top diplomats to Damascus, in attempts to mediate peace talks in Syria. Vice-Foreign Minister Zhai Jun met Assad in Damascus on Saturday and backed his plans for a referendum and multi-party elections. He expressed hope that the two sides will be able to stop the bloodshed in the country and approach peaceful dialogue.
“The position of China is to call on the government, the opposition and the rebels to halt acts of violence immediately,” Zhai Jun said following his two-day visit to Syria.
Russia and China blocked a draft UN Security Council resolution on February 4; other UNSC members blamed the two of pursuing their own interests. Moscow and Beijing insist the draft was one-sided and could have sent an unbalanced signal to the sides in the conflict.