China, Russia issue joint statement on Syria crisis

The parliaments of China and Russia on Thursday released a joint statement on the crisis in Syria, stating that negotiation was the only feasible resolution to the issue, state-run Xinhua News Agency reported. The joint statement was signed by the foreign affairs committees of both China's National People's Congress and Russia's Federation Council, according to the report. The two countries are very concerned about the situation in Syria, the statement said, adding that the people of China and Russia hope for an early settlement to the crisis, the restoration of peace and an end to the bloodshed. The two countries hold that the threat of forces or external military intervention is absolutely unacceptable, said the statement. "The two countries are worried about reports of the use of chemical weapons and support an accurate and objective international investigation into reported incidents and refer the survey report to the Security Council of the United Nations," it said. China and Russia are veto-wielding permanent members of the Security Council. "We welcome the decision of Syrian leaders to join the Chemical Weapons Convention as well as the Russia-US framework agreement on resolving the issue of Syrian chemical weapons." The people and legislative institutions of China and Russia hope for an early convening of the second international conference on Syria in Geneva, it said.