China urges Syrian govt, opposition to be pragmatic

A Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman on Tuesday urged the Syrian government and the opposition to be pragmatic in finding a solution to the ongoing crisis in the war-torn country.

"We urge the Syrian government and the opposition to take a pragmatic attitude and positively seek a solution acceptable for all sides concerned to start political dialogue and transition at an early date," spokesman Hong Lei said at a daily news briefing.

Hong made the remarks after leaders of the Syrian National Coalition for Opposition and Revolutionary Forces and Friends of Syria, the coalition's main backers, held a meeting in Paris on Monday to discuss a swift political transition in Syria.

Hong said the Chinese side has taken note of reports about the meeting and hopes that all the sides will play a "positive and constructive" role in pushing ahead with a political solution to the Syrian crisis.

"A political solution is the only practical method of solving the Syrian issue," said the spokesman.

"(We) hope that all sides will further accumulate consensus on the basis of the Geneva Communique of the Action Group for Syria to seek a fair, peaceful and appropriate solution to the Syrian issue," Hong said.

The Geneva Communique, which was endorsed by the Action Group on Syria on June 30 last year, envisaged a Syrian-led transition, including the formation of a transitional government in Syria combining representatives of the government and the opposition.