Commentary: New resolution conducive to maintain political momentum in Syria peace process

The UN Security Council on Friday unanimously adopted a resolution to urge the launch of the Syria peace talks in early January, stressing that "the Syrian people will decide the future of Syria."

The latest UN document, which is legally binding, paves the way to maintaining the political momentum in the Syria peace process.

The council resolution endorses what has been achieved by the international diplomatic efforts in Geneva, Vienna and New York over the past years in a bid to bring an early end to the conflict in Syria, where more than 300,000 people have been reportedly killed since March 2011.

The Geneva Communique, which was agreed upon in June 2012, for one, is endorsed once again by the 15-nation UN body Friday as it has been long seen as the basis for a political solution to the Syria crisis.

After rounds of diplomatic talks, the international community has reached a consensus that the political transition in the Middle East country should be owned and led by the Syrian people themselves. To bring this roadmap into reality, the world community should spare no efforts to create a favorable environment.

The positive political momentum is better maintained after the world powers all agreed in New York earlier Friday that a political solution, rather than a military one, should be sought to end the Syria crisis.

Indeed, it is imperative that the Syria crisis, which lasted for nearly five years, should be settled through political means, as the military solution can not help address the root causes of the Syrian problem in the long run, and only the Syrian people, such as representatives of the Syrian government and opposition, can do it should they sit down together to decide the fate of their country.

In the Syrian case, the international efforts to seek the political settlement fully complies with the purposes and principles of the UN Charter.

The new council resolution also urges the United Nations -- the most representative and authoritative body in the world -- to play a bigger role in the process.

The new resolution requests UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, through his good offices and the efforts of his special envoy for Syria, Staffan de Mistura, "to convene representatives of the Syrian government and the opposition to engage in formal negotiations on a political transition process on an urgent basis."

Ever since the outbreak of the Syrian crisis, the United Nations has been demanding a political solution to the crisis.

The current positive political momentum is not easy to come by and the international community should seize the chance to work together toward lasting peace in Syria.

Apart from Geneva and Vienna, efforts have also been made over the past few days by relevant parties in Cairo, Riyadh and Moscow to seek a lasting political solution to the Syrian problem.

To be frank, serious differences still exist among relevant parties on issues such as which opposition groups should be defined as terrorist groups and which opposition groups should be treated as future negotiation partners.

At present, the international community is confronting the two most important and pressing issues -- the launching of the peace talks between the Syrian government and opposition and the implementing of the UN-monitored truce in the country.

Just as Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, who is in New York to attend the Syria international talks and subsequent UN Security Council meeting on Syria, told reporters here "Without peace talks, the ceasefire cannot be sustained. Without a ceasefire, the peace talks cannot continue to produce results."

"We must realize the political process is going to go backward if we are not making progress," Wang added. Endit