China says G-20 summit wrong place for Syria talk

A top Chinese diplomat says the situation in Syria shouldn't be on the agenda at the upcoming G-20 summit in Mexico because the meeting needs to stay focused on global economic issues, including the European debt crisis.

A top Chinese diplomat says the situation in Syria shouldn't be on the agenda at the upcoming G-20 summit in Mexico because the meeting needs to stay focused on global economic issues, including the European debt crisis.

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Vice Foreign Minister Cui Tiankai said at a briefing on Monday that although there is intense global concern over the situation in Syria, the summit isn't the appropriate place to discuss it.

He said political and security issues have not been on the G-20 agenda before and shouldn't be now.

Tiankai said Beijing will press the interests of developing countries but acknowledged that American and European financial problems inevitably dominate discussions at G-20 meetings because of the size and influence of their economies.