Russia commends China paper on Ukraine crisis settlement

MOSCOW, Feb. 24 (Xinhua) -- The Russian Foreign Ministry on Friday praised a paper released by China stating its position on the political settlement of the Ukraine crisis.

In the document issued earlier in the day, China calls for international efforts to create conditions for the resumption of peace talks, saying that dialogue and negotiation are the only viable solution to the Ukraine crisis.

"We highly value the aspiration of our Chinese friends to contribute to a settlement of the conflict in Ukraine through peaceful means," the ministry's spokesperson Maria Zakharova said in a statement.

"We share the views of China. We are committed to complying with the principles of the UN Charter and the provisions of international law, including humanitarian law and indivisibility of security," she said.

"As for the Ukraine crisis, Russia is open to achieving the goals of the special military operation via political and diplomatic means," Zakharova said.