China tells Arab League it backs humanitarian aid for Syria

China backs international efforts to send humanitarian aid to Syria, Chinese Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi said, after France said the U.N. Security Council would work on a draft resolution about extending help to stricken parts of Syria.   

Yang made the comments in a phone call late on Tuesday with the head of the Arab League, Nabil Elaraby, the official Xinhua news service reported on Wednesday.   

Yang's published comments did not mention Paris' announcement that the United Nations Security Council would begin work on a draft resolution seeking to halt violence in Syria and enable humanitarian access to victims.   

But his remarks appeared aimed at countering Arab League ire over Beijing's handling of the Syrian crisis and its veto, along with Russia, in early February of a draft U.N. resolution aimed at urging Syrian President Bashar al-Assad to give up power.   

"The pressing task now is for all sides to cease violence in the Syrian conflict, and to launch as soon as possible inclusive political dialogue and together deliberate on a reform plan," Yang told Elaraby, who has previously said Beijing's veto lost it diplomatic credit in the Arab world.   

"The international community should create conditions for this, and extend humanitarian aid to Syria," added Yang.   

The bloodshed in Syria, where government forces have been bombarding neighborhoods held by opposition forces, has turned into a broader test setting Western powers against China and Russia over how the world should respond to civil turmoil.   

It was not clear whether Yang's remarks mean China will consider a proposed new Security Council Resolution. As one of the five permanent members of the Council, China has the power to veto such resolutions.   

"We hope Russia and China will not oppose the proposed resolution," the French foreign ministry spokesman Bernard Valero said on Tuesday, adding that the focus was on the besieged city of Homs.   

The earlier veto by Moscow and Beijing angered Western powers and major Arab states which have been pushing for U.N. action, under pressure from public opinion outraged at civilian casualties in Homs.   

Russia and China have warned against international interference in Syria's affairs and have argued that a domestic solution is possible.   

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton called the China-Russia veto "despicable".   

China's Foreign Ministry on Monday said Clinton's criticism of Beijing's stance was "totally unacceptable".   

China has sent envoys to the region to seek a diplomatic solution for Syria and backed plans for a referendum and multi-party elections. The plans have been dismissed by the West and Syria's opposition as a sham.

Reuters