September 14, 2022
Mr. President,
I thank Deputy Special Envoy Najat Rochdi and Under-Secretary-General Martin Griffiths for the briefings. I have listened carefully to the statement delivered by Mr. Darwish.
The Syrian-led and Syrian-owned political process is the only way to resolve the Syrian issue. China welcomes the sustained efforts of the Special Envoy and his team to promote the political process in Syria. We hope that the parties concerned will engage constructively with the UN to properly resolve the differences relating to the small body of the Constitutional Committee, with a view to holding the meeting at an early date and making substantial progress. Special Envoy Geir Pedersen put forth the step-for-step approach, which is conducive to creating favorable conditions for the political process. China supports the Special Envoy’s continued communication with the parties in this regard.
At present, Syria is still facing a complex security situation. The international community should adopt a unified standard on the basis of international law and UN Security Council resolutions to combat all terrorist forces in Syria with zero tolerance. Actions that condone, harbor or exploits terrorist forces for political interests must stop.
The sovereignty and territorial integrity of Syria must be respected. In the absence of the consent of the Syrian Government, illegally stationing troops in Syria or even setting up military bases in Syria constitute a serious violation of the country’s sovereignty and territorial integrity. Such acts are in no way defending and acting strictly in accordance with the UN Charter.
Secure Security Council Resolution 2642 was adopted more than two months ago. Since then, only one cross-line delivery has been completed in northwestern Syria, with no improvement in terms of efficiency and scale. I would like to reiterate that the cross-border relief modality is only a temporary arrangement made under exceptional circumstances. The transition to cross-line relief operation needs to be accelerated. A clear timetable should be set for the eventual termination of cross-border delivery. The Permanent Representative of Syria sent two letters to the President of the Council on September 2 and September 7 respectively, condemning the attacks on the airports in Damascus and Aleppo. These airports are important across-line transfer hubs of humanitarian supplies. Attacks on humanitarian infrastructure must cease immediately.
I thank you, Mr. President.