Political dialogue, only way out for solving Rakhine crisis, says Chinese envoy

UNITED NATIONS, March 28 (Xinhua) -- China believes that only through political dialogue between Myanmar and Bangladesh can the Rakhine crisis be solved, a CHINESE envoy said here Thursday.

Sun Guoxiang, special envoy for Asian Affairs of the CHINESE Foreign Ministry, said as a responsible country and a good neighbour of both Myanmar and Bangladesh, China wishes a peaceful solution to the crisis.

Repatriation of the refugees is the priority for solving the crisis and the international community should create a suitable environment for such efforts, Sun said.

"We can not expect the crisis, with a long history and complicated causes, to be solved overnight," Sun said, adding that China upholds a constructive attitude on the Rakhine crisis.

Sun, who arrived in New York on Tuesday, briefed the Security Council on his recent tour to the crisis-hit areas in Myanmar and Bangladesh and China's policy on solving the crisis through political dialogue between Myanmar and Bangladesh.

The CHINESE envoy urged the United Nations to continue its efforts to push forward the dialogue between Myanmar and Bangladesh, and offer support for refugee repatriation when he met with UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres.

Guterres highly appreciated what China has done in helping solve the Rakhine crisis, stressing that parties concerned should show their political will and take concrete action to help repatriate the refugees.

Sun also held bilateral talks with representatives from the missions of Myanmar, Bangladesh, Britain and Russia to exchange views on the crisis during his three-day visit.