China firmly opposes use of chemical weapons under any circumstances: envoy

A Chinese envoy said here Wednesday that China firmly opposes the use of chemical weapons under any circumstances.

Speaking at the UN Security Council briefing on the situation in the Middle East, Wu Haitao, China's deputy permanent representative to the UN, said that his country is "greatly concerned by the use of chemical weapons against civilians in Syria." 

Recent incidents of suspected use of toxic chemicals are "deeply concerning," and in that regard, establishing a new investigative mechanism to find out the truth and prevent the recurrent use of such weapons is "of vital importance," he said. 

All parties should continue to insist that the Security Council and the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) should be the main channels for addressing the use of chemical weapons, said the Chinese envoy. 

Wu expressed the hope that the Syrian Government would continue to cooperate with OPCW on the resolution of the initial declaration and properly resolve the outstanding issues. 

Political settlement is the only way to resolve the Syria issue, and in that context, the international community should support the next round of Geneva talks, Wu said.