Russia expects China to help resolve Syrian crisis


Moscow hopes for China's help in solving the Syrian crisis and restoring the country, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Igor Morgulov said Monday.

"Our cooperation with China on Syria at various international venues is unprecedented. We blocked six attempts to pass anti-Syrian resolutions in the U.N. Security Council," Morgulov said at "Russia and China: Taking on a New Quality of Bilateral Relations" international conference.

The Russian deputy foreign minister added that Russia values Beijing's position on the Syrian crisis, and hopes that, "the Chinese partners will continue their efforts to promote a political settlement."

"Together we call for a peaceful and political-diplomatic solution to conflicts, without double standards, unilateral action or attempts at ousting regimes. Our approaches coincide, among other things, on the uncompromising fight against terrorism," Morgulov said.

Russia and China have repeatedly vetoed U.N. Security Council resolutions imposing sanctions against the Assad regime. Moscow has long-standing links to the Assad regime and is its key ally, while China has an established policy of non-intervention in other countries' affairs.

Syria has been locked in a vicious civil war since early 2011 when Bashar Assad's regime ruthlessly cracked down on pro-democracy protests, which began as part of the Arab Spring uprisings.

Since then, at least 250,000 people have been killed and more than 11 million have been displaced, 6.3 million internally and 5.1 million externally, across the war-battered country, according to the U.N.