Britain welcomes UN resolution on Syrian peace process

British Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond on Saturday welcomed the unanimous adoption of UN Security Council Resolution 2254 aimed at bringing peace to Syria. The UN Security Council on Friday adopted a resolution endorsing an international roadmap for a Syrian-led political transition in order to end the country's conflict, which calls for Syria peace talks to begin in early January. In a statement, Philip Hammond said the resolution "gives us a timetable and a clear way forward." "The international community has now come together to work to end the bloody civil war in Syria and has paved the way for talks amongst the Syrian parties that will see a transition away from the murderous regime of Assad," he said. "Of course there are many challenges ahead but the world has taken a great step forward to resolving the Syrian crisis," he noted. Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi on Friday also hailed the unanimous adoption of Resolution 2254, calling it "fresh impetus to solve the Syrian crisis." He stressed that there is no military solution to the crisis and political negotiation is the only viable option. The Syrian future must be independently decided by the Syrian people, Wang urged, saying that the political process must be Syrian-led and Syrian-owned. Britain has suspended all services of the British Embassy in Syrian capital Damascus and all diplomatic personnel have been withdrawn from Syria. It has recognized the National Coalition for Syrian Revolutionary and Opposition Forces as "the sole legitimate representative of the Syrian people," and demanded Syrian President Bashar al-Assad to step down. Meanwhile, Russia has been a firm ally of Assad and has reaffirmed its support for the Syrian president and his government.