The key to solving the current Syria crisis relies on the Syrian government, a senior United Nations (UN) special envoy said in Beijing on Nov. 9.
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Wang Gangyi (L), vice president of CIPG, welcomes Mr. Lakhdar Brahimi for his visit. [Photo by Wang Nan/China.org.cn] |
Lakhdar Brahimi, former UN special envoy to Syria, paid a visit to China International Publishing Group (CIPG) on Monday, and said as much during a presentation on the Syria issue.
"The Syrian crisis is not only [an issue] for Syrian people and the nearby region, but also a crisis for the entire world," said Mr. Brahimi, "The biggest responsibility lies with the Syrian government."
In his opinion, the Syrian government didn't deal with the issue properly at the beginning and has not made enough changes and reform so as to satisfy the Syrian people, especially the younger people.
"The Syrian issue is different from Afghanistan, Sudan, and any other countries in the Middle East and North Africa. However, [the same] point is that solving such a problem depends on their governments."
However, that doesn't mean the current situation in Syria is a simple question. Mr. Brahimi said, "The Syrian crisis is an extremely complicated issue aroused by both internal and external factors."
"After the Syrian Civil War, Russia and Iran supported the Syrian government, while the United States and major Western European countries backed the opposition. In addition, the United States' intervention directly resulted in the rise of the Islamic State of Syria (ISIS), which has worsened the already separated country."
Although Syria's government takes the biggest responsibility, the Syrian crisis calls on more efforts from the international community.
"I think that the U.S. and Russia can certainly take some positive actions to find effective ways for solving the Syrian crisis, like finding an end to the war, and halting arms importing."
At the same time, Mr. Brahimi also encouraged China to play a probable role with the Syrian issue. He said, "China is now a very powerful country across the world. So, China can and should make more contributions to international affairs including the Syrian issue."
Mr. Brahimi admitted that the UN Security Council has a range of dissention concerning the Syrian issue. "The Security Council has discussed the issue again and again, but unfortunately, we could only discuss it without coming to any effective agreement."
"Although at present, to bring the Syrian people peace and safety seems very difficult, we will continue trying our best to do that," said Mr. Brahimi, "That is because no military means but political and peaceful measures could solve the Syrian crisis."