The UN special envoy for Syria called on all nations to face the Islamic State group in a "united, international way" to keep more people from joining the extremist militants.

Italian diplomat Staffan de Mistura made his remarks in an exclusive interview with China Daily after meeting with Foreign Affairs Vice-Minister Li Baodong in Beijing on Monday morning, in a joint bid to seek a political solution to the conflicts in Syria. De Mistura was appointed in July last year as the international point man to deal with the worsening Syria crisis.

The meeting on Monday came ahead of a planned presentation by UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon next Wednesday on the next round of political moves related to Syria.

About 300 Chinese citizens are reportedly fighting for various extremist groups in Syria, according to Li Jun, a senior official with China's anti-terrorism bureau, who released the information during a multinational conference in May.

De Mistura, 67, said he did not know the exact number of Chinese involved with the Islamic State group, nor did he bring up the subject with Li during their talk, since they focused on seeking a "political solution" for Syria.

"ISIS has been receiving people from many countries - the European countries, Asian countries including China, and countries as far away as Australia. You are not alone on this," De Mistura said, using an acronym for the Islamic State group. "The best way to avoid this phenomenon is to face ISIS clearly in a united, international way."

Li Fuguo, director of the Center for Middle East Studies at the China Institute of International Studies, said that the Islamic State group has adopted "fairly effective" measures by taking advantage of social media and other online tools to reach out to young people.

"The key is how to reach a true political solution to wipe out the breeding ground for dangerous thoughts and ideas that have been allowing Islamic State to grow in Syria and Iraq," he said.

"A united, political solution is much more than a slogan," Li added. "It will test each nation's true stand in the Syria crisis. Are they thinking for the Syrian people, or are they using the conflicts as a tool to gain geopolitical advantages? Time will tell."

De Mistura said the situation in Syria is "probably the largest humanitarian tragedy" he has seen in his career.

De Mistura, born in Stockholm, Sweden, worked four decades for various UN agencies and served as the deputy foreign minister in Italy before he took his current post. His predecessor, Lakhdar Brahimi, resigned in May last year after about two years of failed attempts to end Syria's civil war.

De Mistura said that during Brahimi's tenure, there was no Islamic State group, and the humanitarian tragedy was not as large. Facing these new challenges has given him "one additional reason" to push for a political solution, he said.

chenmengwei@chinadaily.com.cn

(China Daily USA 07/22/2015 page3)