US urged to respect aspiration of Middle East countries: FM spokesperson

BEIJING, May 10 (Xinhua) -- The United States needs to respect the aspiration of the people of Middle East countries and stop coercive diplomacy, a Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson said on Wednesday.

According to media reports, a spokesperson of the U.S. State Department said a few days ago that "Syria does not merit readmission into the Arab League, and we continue to believe that we will not normalize our relations with the Assad regime and we don't support our allies and partners doing so either." In the meanwhile, the United States announced the decision to extend the regime of unilateral sanctions against Syria for one year more, starting from May 11.

"The Middle East belongs to the people of the Middle East, and its affairs should be decided by the people of the Middle East independently," spokesperson Wang Wenbin said at a daily news briefing when answering a relevant query.

Wang said that Syria's return to the Arab League meets the aspiration of the Arab people, and is conducive to the strength and unity of Arab states as well as peace and stability in the region.

The U.S. needs to respect the aspiration of the people of Middle East countries, stop coercive diplomacy, stop disrupting the dialogue and reconciliation process among Middle East countries, and stop manufacturing tension to divide the Middle East, Wang added.