External players of the Syria crisis should draw lessons from Iraq and Libya if they are mulling a "regime change," said China's special envoy on Syria on Tuesday.
Ambassador Xie Xiaoyan underscored that the future of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad is in nature Syria's internal affairs which should be left for the Syrian people to decide.
"External forces do have a role to play, but there is a line beyond which is meddling in the internal affairs of another country," Xie told reporters in Brussels.
"It is not our job to make prejudgment and it is not our duty to decide the future of that particular person," he said. "Past experiences have told us the mere change of regime will bring disaster for a country, the case being Iraq, Libya, and elsewhere."
"Just look at these two countries, have peace and stability returned? Have people benefited from the removal of figures like Saddam Hussein or Gaddafi?" he questioned.
Laying out China's stance on the Syria issue, he said China has four-fold concerns: maintaining the cease-fire agreement, fighting terrorism, improving the humanitarian situation, and ensuring political settlement through peace dialogue.
The diplomat said that the Syria crisis is a complicated issue and that there won't be a quick fix.
Nonetheless, he argued that all parties involved should have confidence and resolve to find a final solution which "takes into consideration of the interests of the different factions."
"Along the way, little by little, step by step, consensus will be increased, progress will be made," he said.
