China urges Syrian government to respond to its people's appeals

China on Tuesday called on the Syrian government to respond to its people's calls for reform. "We believe the Syrian government should respond to people's reasonable expectations and appeals, and resolve the issues through dialogue and consultations," Foreign Ministry spokesman Liu Weimin said at a daily press briefing. Liu's comments came a week after China and Russia, the two permanent members of the United Nations Security Council, vetoed a draft resolution that would strongly condemn "the continued grave and systematic human rights violations by the Syrian authorities," and threatened punitive measures against the Middle East country. Syria has been wracked by six months of unrest that its government blames on a foreign conspiracy and armed thugs. A recent UN statement put the number of civilians killed during the past six months in Syria at 2,600, while Syria blames foreign-backed armed gangs, who it says have killed 700 security forces personnel. Liu said China pays close attention to the development of the Syrian situation, opposes any resort to force and would not like to see any more bloodshed or casualties. He again called on the Syrian government to quickly carry out its commitment of reform and resume and advance an inclusive political process that involves the wide participation of all parities in Syria. "China supports all efforts that will help achieve those objectives and restore Syria's stability," Liu said.