Ban meets China’s Hu seeking tougher action on Syria

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BEIJING: UN chief Ban Ki-moon held talks yesterday with Chinese President Hu Jintao as he seeks to press Beijing to back tougher action to stop violence in Syria hours ahead of a key Security Council vote.

Ban has already urged China to use its influence to back a peace plan by UN-Arab League envoy Kofi Annan, who is calling on the Security Council to order “consequences” for any failure to carry out his six-point plan.

But it will be a difficult task for the UN secretary general to persuade Beijing to back a Western resolution renewing the UN mission in the country that calls for sanctions if the regime does not pull back heavy weapons.

China, one of five veto-wielding members of the Security Council, has twice joined with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s main ally Russia in blocking resolutions critical of Damascus and has repeatedly warned against outside intervention in Syria.

“The life of Syria’s current political leadership can only be determined by the Syrian people,” said the People’s Daily, mouthpiece of the Communist Party, in an editorial on Tuesday.

“This is an internal matter and the international community should respect that.” — AFP