China and Russia have said the ongoing Syria crisis should be resolved in an impartial and peaceful way, according to a joint statement issued Wednesday.

The statement was released during Russian President Vladimir Putin's three-day state visit to China, where he is also scheduled to attend the 12th Meeting of the Council of Heads of Member States of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization in Beijing on Wednesday and Thursday.

In the statement, China and Russia reiterated their firm stance to supporting and safeguarding Syria's sovereignty, independence, unification and territorial integrity and adherence to the purpose and principles of the UN Charter, stressing that developments of the Syrian situation are critical to the peace and stability of the Middle East as well as the world at large.

The two sides uphold that the Syria crisis should be resolved in an impartial and peaceful way without any interference from the outside, says the statement, urging all sides in conflict to cease violent actions and restart political dialogue.

China and Russia strongly oppose any attempt to address the Syria crisis with military interference from the outside or forcefully impose a regime change in the insurgency-ridden country, according to the statement.

In the statement, the two sides also urge the international community to improve coordination and jointly endorse UN-Arab League Joint Envoy Kofi Annan's mediation efforts.

China and Russia welcome the deployment of UN monitors in Syria with Security Council Resolution 2043 strictly abided by, which set up a ceasefire monitoring force and demanded a halt to violence as part of a peace plan that Syrian President Bashar al-Assad agreed with UN-Arab League envoy Kofi Annan.