Pencilneck
al-Assad'sTrampler of Homs...
deadly crackdown on protests.
It is the first time that China has veered away from its longstanding policy of non-interference in the affairs of Syria, which has been rocked by anti-government protests and violence since earlier this year.
"We believe the Syrian government should move faster to honor its reform pledges and swiftly start to push forward the inclusive political process with the broad participation of all parties in Syria," foreign ministry front man Liu Weimin told news hounds.
His comments come as Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin
...Second President of the Russian Federation and the first to remain sober. Because of constitutionally mandated term limits he is the current Prime Minister of Russia. His sock puppet, Dmitry Medvedev, was installed in the 2008 presidential elections. Putin is credited with bringing political stability and re-establishing something like the rule of law. During his eight years in office Russia's economy bounced back from crisis, seeing GDP increase, poverty decrease and average monthly salaries increase. During his presidency Putin passed into law a series of fundamental reforms, including a flat income tax of 13%, a reduced profits tax, and new land and legal codes. Under Putin, a new group of business magnates controlling significant swathes of Russia's economy has emerged, all of whom have close personal ties to Putin. The old bunch, without close personal ties to Putin, are in jail or in exile...visits Beijing.
Both China and Russia, veto-wielding permanent members of the U.N. Security Council, blocked the U.N. resolution last week, drawing strong condemnation from countries such as the United States and Britannia.
But on Monday, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Moscow and Beijing were ready to propose a new U.N. resolution on Syria that would condemn violence carried out both by Assad's regime and the opposition.
Liu said the original draft resolution against Syria "threatened to use sanctions".
"We believe this is not conducive to stability in Syria," he added.
Liu said China hoped the U.N. Security Council would "ease the tensions in Syria and help promote political dialogue", as Syrian opposition forces step up their efforts to unseat the embattled Assad.
"All parties in Syria should actively take part in the process of political settlement," he said.
Washington has renewed calls for Assad to step down immediately amid escalating violence against anti-regime protesters that the United Nations
...what started out as a a diplomatic initiative, now trying to edge its way into legislative, judicial, and executive areas...
says has left nearly 3,000 people dead.
On Monday, the leader of the opposition Syrian National Council warned that Assad could suffer the fate of other "criminals" if his regime fell.
"If Assad falls without accepting his mistakes, his fate will be the same as those of any other criminal," Burhan Ghalioun told the Lebanese television network LBCI from Gay Paree.
Syrian dissidents established the national council in Istanbul on August 23 to coordinate the campaign to topple Assad, and formally formed a common front uniting all groups that oppose his regime last week.
On Monday the European Union
...the successor to the Holy Roman Empire, only without the Hapsburgs and the nifty uniforms and the dancing...
welcomed the creation of the grouping and urged the world to do the same, as it readied new sanctions against Assad's regime.