LOC19:17
16:17 GMT
TOKYO, Sept 7 (KUNA) -- China said on Wednesday that the Syrian crisis
should be solved through dialogue and consultations instead of simply putting
pressure on the country, the official Xinhua News Agency reported.
"We think the first thing to do is to ease tensions in Syria in order to
avoid escalation," Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Jiang Yu told a press briefing
in Beijing. Jiang's comments came in response to a question regarding whether
or not China will communicate with the Syrian opposition, as Russia has
already received a delegation from the Syrian opposition.
"Simply putting pressure on the country offers no solution and the correct
approach to solving the crisis will be to launch a Syria-dominated inclusive
political process. We should give Syria more time to carry out its commitment
to reform," she added.
Syria has endured unrest since mid-March, when anti-government protests
broke out in the southern province of Daraa and spread to other cities. (end)
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KUNA 071917 Sep 11NNNN