Clinton's criticism of China over Syria 'unacceptable'

A Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman on Saturday said that U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's criticism of China at the latest Friends of Syria meeting is "unacceptable."

"China is not impeding the process of resolving the Syrian issues," Liu Weimin said at a regular press conference in response to a question on Clinton's remarks on Friday in Paris.

At the third Friends of Syria meeting, Clinton said Russia and China were "holding up progress" in a settlement to the 16-month crisis, describing their stances as "no longer tolerable."

But Liu retorted, "On the contrary, China has made an important contribution to safeguarding the UN Charter, the basic norms governing international relations, the peace and stability of the region and the fundamental interests of the Syrian people as well as pursuing a political solution to the Syrian issues."

The spokesman said the Geneva meeting, a ministerial-level gathering of the Action Group on Syria in which China played a constructive role, produced positive outcomes.

The Geneva meeting on June 30 gathered foreign ministers of the UN Security Council's five permanent members along with Turkey, Kuwait, Qatar, Iraq, plus representatives of the UN, the Arab League and the European Union. The ministers agreed that a transitional government should be set up in Syria to end the conflict but did not stipulate the ouster of President Bashar al-Assad.

China's impartial and constructive stance as well as its diplomatic efforts have been widely recognized and supported by the international community, said Liu, adding that any efforts to blemish the image of China or make mischief between it and other nations will end in vain.