Azerbaijan, Baku, Feb.22 /Trend A.Taghiyeva/
The deepening of economic partnership between China and Arab Gulf countries and Turkey contributes to Beijing's change of position with respect to the Syrian crisis, an analyst at the Turkish International Development Research Centre (USAK) Ali Bakir said.
We shouldn't expect that China will maintain the fall of President Assad regime, however, at least, the country will not oppose it and will not block UN Security Council resolution on Syria, Bakir says.
Russia and China blocked the adoption of two resolutions against the government of Syria in the UN Security Council, using the veto power as permanent members of the Security Council in October 2011 and February 4, 2102.
Bakir noted that, China supports the Arab initiative to resolve the crisis in Syria in recent years, and the fact that China is thinking about participating in the meeting of Friends of Syria, is an indicator of changes of Beijing's position on this issue.
"China is primarily pursuing its interests. It is trying to protect itself from sanctions against Iran, its main partner in the region" the expert said.
The signing of several agreements with Turkey and some Arab Gulf states insures Beijing on economic issues due to the EU and U.S. sanctions against Iran.
China and Saudi Arabia signed an agreement to increase oil supplies to China earlier.
In addition, Turkey and China have signed several agreements, including in the field of energy cooperation, and agreement on currency swap arrangements between the central banks of countries.
As for Russia's position on the Syrian issue, then, it will not be changed, because this country does not have deep economic relations with Arab countries, and at the same time, Russia itself is oil-producing country, thereby reducing its dependence on external supplies, Bakir said.
"Russia's refusal to participate in a meeting of Friends of Syria is an indication that Russia is not going to change its position on the Syrian issue," Bakir stressed.
Syria has for nearly a year living in the continuing anti-government protests. Daily reports of deaths - both civilians and uniformed personnel. According to UN figures, the total number of victims in the country exceeded 5.4 thousand. The Syrian authorities say were killed in clashes over two thousand military and law enforcement officials to Syria, against which there are well-armed militants.
Anti-government protests which began in mid-March have persisted in Syria for almost a year. Daily reports are being received about the deaths of people, both civilians and the security forces. According to UN statistics, the total number of victims in the country exceeds 5400 people. The Syrian authorities accuse armed militants of the clashes saying they receive assistance from neighbouring countries.
During an emergency meeting of foreign ministers in Tunisia, the Arab League initiated holding its first international conference of Group 'Friends of Syria'.
Russia which previously vetoed the UN Security Council resolution on Syria, has already stated that it will not participate in the conference because of the composition of delegates, the agenda and that the focus of the initiative is not clear.