BREAKING NEWS

China ready to liaise with Russia on Middle East crisis

China is ready to maintain communication and coordination with Russia to cool down the Israel-Palestinian conflict, its Middle East special envoy said after meeting with his Russian counterpart this week, Chinese state media reported.

China and Russia share the same position on the Palestinian issue, Zhai Jun was quoted saying after meeting with Russia's special representative for Middle East and African countries in Doha, Qatar on Thursday.

"The fundamental reason for the current situation in the Palestinian-Israeli conflict is that the legitimate national rights of the Palestinian people have not been guaranteed," Zhai said.

He said China is saddened by the number of civilian casualties and the humanitarian crisis, and is ready to play a "positive role in the resumption of Palestinian-Israeli peace talks," as well as the "genuine implementation" of the two-state solution.

Zhai, who met with the Arab League representatives last Saturday and Israel's ambassador to China on Tuesday, has said that China has no "selfish" interests on the Palestinian issue.

Both envoys also exchanged views on Syria during meeting but did not elaborate.

Russia said on Thursday it was closely coordinating its policy in the Middle East and North Africa with China, for the Israel conflict as well as other crises in those regions.