President al-Assad: What Syria Encounters mainly aims at dividing and striking its Geopolitical Position

Feb 18, 2012

DAMASCUS, (SANA)-President Bashar al-Assad on Saturday discussed with Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Zhai Jun the historic friendship relations connecting Syria and China as well as the situation in Syria. During the meeting, Jun underlined that China's stance on the events in Syria is based on a responsible policy stemming from objectivity, justice and adhering to the international law principles in the interests of the Syrian people, and to restore security and stability in Syria as a main factor for the region's stability. "China supports the reform process being carried out in Syria and the important steps taken in this regard," Jun said, adding that his country will continue playing its positive and constructive role to find a political settlement for the crisis in Syria through dialogue among all sides concerned in the country away of foreign intervention. President al-Assad, for his part, appreciated China stances, as leadership and people, regarding Syria. The President said that what Syria encounters mainly aims at partitioning it, striking its geopolitical position and historic role in the region, underlining that Syria is determined to the political reform process according to a clear schedule and timetable. Foreign and Expatriates Minister Walid al-Moallem, Presidential Political and Media Advisor Buthaina Shaaban, Deputy Foreign and Expatriates Minister Fayssal Mikdad and the Chinese delegation accompanying Mr. Jun attended the meeting. In a press statement to journalists following the meeting, the Chinese Vice Foreign Minister said " I exchanged clear and profound viewpoints with President al-Assad about the Syrian issue… China as a friendly country to Syria is following with great concern the developments here.. we are worried about the escalation of crisis in Syria." "I briefed President al-Assad on China's basic stance image over the Syrian issue, this stance is represented by calling on the Syrian government, armed men and the opposition to an immediate halt of acts of violence against civilians and to restore stability and normal system in Syria as soon as possible because stability and development pour in the interest of all Syrian people… and only under stable conditions, Syria could make comprehensive political reforms, the Chinese official said. He added "in another term, China calls for halting acts of violence and calls on all sides in Syria to sit on the dialogue table to reach a comprehensive political plan. Jun hoped referendum on the new draft constitution and the parliamentary elections would be run in a smooth way, adding that the Chinese experiment indicates that no country could achieve development to its people in the absence of stability. He stressed that his country's objective and just stance over the crisis in Syria stems from the basic interest of the Syrian people, saying "China has no selfish intentions in this issue." In the same context, Minister al-Moallem met the Chinese Vice Foreign Minister and the accompanying delegation. Mazen

China’s “core interests'" subtext: "'We will be uncompromising on the South China Sea & the Middle East!"

"The visit of Chinese Vice-premier Xi Jinping to Washington included a series of top-level meetings, including with President Obama and, significantly, Defense Secretary Panetta. The objective on both sides was to overcome the “trust deficit” that has beset relations for some years. After conversations with senior US officials, our assessment is that the visit has done little to change the trajectory of relations with Beijing. While Xi made many references to friendship and cooperation between the two countries, the phase that attracted most analytic attention was his emphasis on China’s “core interests.” US officials interpret this to mean that China will co-operate where it wishes, but will be uncompromising on issues like the South China Sea and the Middle East. Conservative critics have jumped in to argue that nothing has changed. This is essentially correct. In the words of a senior State Department official with whom we discussed the visit, “The needle has not moved. We are still two great powers without an underlying theory of how our relationships either works or should evolve.” The end result is that mutual suspicion is still the order of the day. US policy will continue to veer between cooperation and preparation for possible confrontation. Elsewhere, the rapid deterioration in Syria is dominating the agenda in US-EU consultations. The Administration is under pressure from regional allies such as Saudi Arabia (and) US friends of Israel also favor arming the opposition in order to hasten the regime’s downfall which they see as transforming the power dynamics in the Middle East. While this would raise pressure on Iran, the current intelligence assessment is that Assad's foes are divided, supported to a degree by Islamists and have not demonstrated a strategy for victory. Regarding Iran,concern is rising in Washington that Israel is running out of patience and will go ahead with unilateral military action. National Security Adviser Donilon will travel to Israel next week to add his voice to what has been a chorus of senior Administration officials urging restraint. On the domestic scene, continued political disagreements over federal spending mean that State Department spending is coming under renewed pressure. The imbalance in the amount of US resources given to international affairs between the civilian and military sectors continues to widen."

River to Sea Uprooted Palestinian  
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