U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon said on Thursday that the Security Council had sent a clear message to Syria to end all violence and for a dialogue to start between the country's government and the opposition. On the same day, China announced that it will continue supporting international mediating effort to reconcile the crisis in Syria. At a press conference in Beijing, spokesperson for China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Hong Lei said China hopes the UN Security Council will support the reconciliation initiative proposed by UN special envoy to Syria, Kofi Annan. Meanwhile, Mikhail Margelov, Chairman of the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the Federation Council of the Russian Federation said President Bashar al-Assad should take the first step by withdrawing the Syrian Army from large cities and sending humanitarian aid to those who have suffered during the conflict. Conflicts are continuing in many areas in Syria though the UN Security Council approved a plan to settle the Syrian crisis.