United Nations, April 2 (IANS) The UN Security Council will deal with various issues related to Syria, Yemen and the Middle East under China's rotating presidency in April, the country's permanent representative to the world body said.
The council will look at three aspects of the Syrian issue, namely, the political process, chemical weapons and humanitarian access, Xinhua cited Liu Jieyi as saying at a press conference as he took over the rotating presidency of the Security Council for April on Friday.
With regard to Yemen, there are talks going on between relevant countries. The council's discussions help move these talks forward and improve conditions for the implementation of the ceasefire that has been agreed upon, he said.
April will also see three open debates on the Middle East, counter-terrorism and piracy in the Gulf of Guinea, Liu said.
Sponsored by China, the open debate on counter-terrorism is aimed at enhancing international cooperation and coordination in the fight against the surging terrorist activities in Europe and Asia, Liu added.
Under the UN Charter, the 15-member Security Council has the primary responsibility to maintain peace and security in the world at large.
China is one of its five permanent members. The council also has 10 non-permanent members that are elected in groups of five by the UN General Assembly for two-year terms.
The presidency of the UN Security Council rotates among its 15 member states on a monthly basis based on the English-language alphabetical order of the countries' names.
Liu took over the presidency from his Angolan counterpart Ismael Abraao Gaspar Martins.
