Jordan's king calls for China to exercise influence in resolving Syrian crisis

Source : Fox News

BEIJING – Jordan's King Abdullah is calling on China to exercise its influence to help resolve the conflict in Syria.

Abdullah made his appeal in his opening remarks at a meeting Wednesday with Chinese President Xi Jinping during a state visit to China. Abdullah praised relations between the two countries and said they shared a commitment to promoting progress on global issues of concern.

Abdullah then referred to the Syria conflict specifically, saying China was in a position to use its influence as a permanent member of the U.N. Security Council and a "friend of Jordan and the Middle East."

Beijing has called for a political settlement to the more than two-year-old conflict in Syria and joined Russia in blocking moves at the United Nations that could lead to the regime's removal.

Jordan King Warns against Sectarian Strife in Syria: “Recipe for Destruction

Ahlul Bayt News Agency

"A divided Syria means an open-ended conflict that would undermine the stability of the region and the future of its people for generations to come," the king, whose country is home to around 550,000 Syrian refugees, told London-based Asharq Alawsat Arabic daily.

"Dividing Syria is not in anyone's interest and tampering with Syria's unity is a recipe for destruction," he said.

The Jordanian monarch also warned against exporting the conflict to the wider region, saying that "fanning the fire of sectarianism in the Arab and Islamic worlds will have devastating consequences for generatio to come and on the entire world."

"The sum of all fears is that the Syrian conflict could expand into a sedit between the region's Sunnis and Shiites."

"We cannot remain silent over attempts to tamper with the destiny of the reg and its peoples by exploiting religion and religious schools for politics and u them as a means to divide people," he stressed, insisting on the need fo political solution that includes all sides in Syria.

The king said hosting more than half a million Syrian refugees in Jordan h placed the country "at the core" of the crisis.

"What I fear is finding ourselves in a difficult situation where, God forbid, cannot provide relief to our brothers and sisters the Syrian refugees seekin safe haven in Jordan," the daily quoted King Abdullah as saying in rema published on Wednesday.