China defends Syria veto, doubts West's intentions

China defended on Monday its rejection of a U.N. resolution pressing Syrian President Bashar al-Assad to abandon power, with state media saying Western armed intervention in Libya, Afghanistan and Iraq exposed the risks of forced regime change.          

China said its blocking, along with Russia, of the U.N.  Resolution which would have backed an Arab plan urging Assad to quit, did not amount to supporting the Syrian leader. Activists accused his forces of bombarding part of the city of Homs before the U.N. vote in the worst bloodshed of the 11-month uprising.          

"On the issue of Syria, China is not playing favorites and nor is it deliberately opposing anyone, but rather is upholding an objective and fair stance and a responsible position," the Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Liu Weimin told a regular briefing in Beijing.          

Western powers that initiated the U.N. Security Council vote on their draft resolution were to blame for not going far enough in seeking compromise, said Liu.          

"Our goal is for the Syrian people to escape violence, conflict and flames of war, and not to make the problem even more complicated," he said.            

"Unfortunately, the countries that proposed the resolution forced a vote despite the serious differences among various sides, and this approach was not conducive to the unity and authority of Security Council and is not conducive to the appropriate resolution of the problem. Therefore, China voted against the draft resolution," Liu added.    

Reuters