The South African government on Thursday reiterated its position that the Syrian crisis should not be resolved by military means.

"We continue to call for the resolution of the conflict through diplomatic and peaceful means. We reiterate our view that there can be no military solution to the crisis in Syria," International Relations and Cooperation Deputy Minister Marius Fransman said in remarks distributed by the Government Communication and Information System.

The current situation in Syria is a major concern for South Africa, Fransman said.

Fransman also reiterated South Africa's support for the appointment of Laktar Brahimi as a joint special representative for Syria and called on all the parties in the Syrian conflict to cooperate with Brahimi.

Brahimi was appointed by the United Nations earlier this month as the new peace envoy to Syria, replacing Kofi Annan.

In June, South Africa abstained from voting on the latest UN Security Council resolution threatening further sanctions on Syria, calling the document "one-sided."

The resolution would only make the situation on the ground worse, pushing the Syrian government to further pressure the military option and emboldening the opposition to continue to reject talks, the South African government said.

The European Union and the United States have been trying to bring South Africa on board in efforts to resolve the Syrian crisis. But the South African government has made it clearly that it strongly opposes any attempt that might authorize the use of military force in dealing with the Syrian crisis.