Leaders of a bloc grouping China, Russia and Central Asian states called yesterday for dialogue to address the violence in Syria, all but guaranteeing that there will be no end to the deadlock in discussions at the UN Security Council.
Russia and China — permanent members of the Security Council with the power to veto resolutions — have stymied efforts by Western powers to condemn or call for the removal of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, whose forces the UN says have killed at least 10,000 people in more than a year of unrest.
“The Shanghai group member states are against military interference in the affairs of this region [Middle East and North Africa], enforced ‘handover of power,’ unilateral sanctions,” a joint statement from leaders of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation said. “Member states stress the need to stop any violence on the territory of Syria wherever it is coming from, they respect broad nationwide dialogue, based on independence, territorial integrity and sovereignty of Syria.”
Photo: EPA
UN-Arab League envoy Kofi Annan was to brief the Security Council in New York yesterday and UN diplomats said they expected Annan to present a new proposal to rescue his failing peace plan.
Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Cheng Guoping (程國平) said that both China and Russia would remain opposed to foreign intervention.
“The Syrian issue should be resolved based on envoy Annan’s six-point proposal within the UN framework,” Cheng told a news conference. “You can’t say that because you dislike a country’s system, you can then think of ways to overturn its government.”
Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Chinese counterpart, Hu Jintao (胡錦濤), have urged for international support for Annan’s peace plan, despite calls from other states for a tougher response.
The joint statement was issued on the last day of the two-day annual summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation, made up of China, Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan.
The six leaders also warned that “any attempts to solve the Iranian problem by force are not acceptable and lead to unpredictable consequences, threatening stability and security in the region and in the world as a whole.”
Iran is at the center of a standoff over its disputed nuclear program, which the West suspects is aimed at developing nuclear weapons. Iran says its aim is energy production.
The Shanghai Cooperation Organisation leaders called for settling “the Iran nuclear problem through political and diplomatic means.”
Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao (溫家寶) told Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad on Wednesday that China opposed any Middle East country acquiring nuclear weapons, Xinhua news agency reported.
The joint statement also said that “the national reconciliation in Afghanistan should happen under the leadership of Afghans and by Afghans themselves.”
Hu said in an interview with Chinese state media on Wednesday that then organization wants to play a bigger role in Afghanistan. The future of Afghanistan was one of the main issues at the meeting.
He added that the organization had agreed to allow Afghanistan in as an observer and Turkey as a dialogue partner.
Republican US lawmakers on Friday criticized US President Joe Biden’s administration after sanctioned Chinese telecoms equipment giant Huawei unveiled a laptop this week powered by an Intel artificial intelligence (AI) chip. The US placed Huawei on a trade restriction list in 2019 for contravening Iran sanctions, part of a broader effort to hobble Beijing’s technological advances. Placement on the list means the company’s suppliers have to seek a special, difficult-to-obtain license before shipping to it. One such license, issued by then-US president Donald Trump’s administration, has allowed Intel to ship central processors to Huawei for use in laptops since 2020. China hardliners
Conjoined twins Lori and George Schappell, who pursued separate careers, interests and relationships during lives that defied medical expectations, died this month in Pennsylvania, funeral home officials said. They were 62. The twins, listed by Guinness World Records as the oldest living conjoined twins, died on April 7 at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, obituaries posted by Leibensperger Funeral Homes of Hamburg said. The cause of death was not detailed. “When we were born, the doctors didn’t think we’d make 30, but we proved them wrong,” Lori said in an interview when they turned 50, the Philadelphia Inquirer reported. The
RAMPAGE: A Palestinian man was left dead after dozens of Israeli settlers searching for a missing 14-year-old boy stormed a village in the Israeli-occupied West Bank US President Joe Biden on Friday said he expected Iran to attack Israel “sooner, rather than later” and warned Tehran not to proceed. Asked by reporters about his message to Iran, Biden simply said: “Don’t,” underscoring Washington’s commitment to defend Israel. “We are devoted to the defense of Israel. We will support Israel. We will help defend Israel and Iran will not succeed,” he said. Biden said he would not divulge secure information, but said his expectation was that an attack could come “sooner, rather than later.” Israel braced on Friday for an attack by Iran or its proxies as warnings grew of
A prominent Christian leader has allegedly been stabbed at the altar during a Mass yesterday in southwest Sydney. Bishop Mar Mari Emmanuel was saying Mass at Christ The Good Shepherd Church in Wakeley just after 7pm when a man approached him at the altar and allegedly stabbed toward his head multiple times. A live stream of the Mass shows the congregation swarm forward toward Emmanuel before it was cut off. The church leader gained prominence during the COVID-19 pandemic, amassing a large online following, Officers attached to Fairfield City police area command attended a location on Welcome Street, Wakeley following reports a number