Don't go it alone in attack against Syria, China tells US
Beijing opposes military action and says political resolution the only way to solve Syrian crisis
China yesterday urged the US not to take unilateral action against Syria in response to last month's chemical weapons attack against civilians.
This comes as nuclear-powered aircraft carrier USS Nimitz and other ships in its strike group headed west towards the Red Sea to help support a limited US attack and Russia said it was sending a reconnaissance ship to the eastern Mediterranean.
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Hong Lei said Washington had briefed Beijing over the matter and China was highly concerned about any use of chemical weapons.
But he said China opposed the US acting alone and believed any response must conform to the UN Charter and the basic principles underlying international relations.
"China … holds the belief that a political resolution is the only realistic way to solve the Syrian issue," Hong said.
In Moscow, President Vladimir Putin hopes to send a delegation of Russian lawmakers to the United States to discuss the situation in Syria with members of Congress, the Interfax news agency reported yesterday. But it would require formal approval by the foreign ministry. Russian foreign minister Sergey Lavrov said the information the US showed Moscow to prove the Syrian regime was behind the chemical attack was "absolutely unconvincing".
In Paris, French Prime Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault presented a document to lawmakers, which said at 281 people died in the August 21 chemical weapons attack. It is a figure markedly lower than that provided by Washington of at least 1,400 deaths.
