China calls for settlement of Ukraine crisis through negotiations

UNITED NATIONS, Jan. 25 (Xinhua) -- China on Thursday called for the settlement of the Ukraine crisis through negotiations.

The development of the Ukraine crisis has demonstrated over and over again that conflict or confrontation will produce no winners, that dialogue and negotiation represents the only viable way out of the crisis, and that sending weapons to the battlefield is not conducive to the achievement of peace, said Dai Bing, China's deputy permanent representative to the United Nations (UN).

"China calls on relevant parties to strengthen direct engagement and dialogue, resume negotiations step by step in order to accumulate consensus," Dai told an emergency meeting of the UN Security Council following Wednesday's crash of a Russian Il-76 military transport aircraft.

The international community should demonstrate a greater sense of urgency and strengthen diplomatic mediation in a collective effort toward de-escalation and a political solution, he said.

On the issue of Ukraine, China has all along stood on the side of peace and of dialogue, and has always been working to promote peace through negotiations and to end the fighting, he said, adding that China is willing to maintain communication with all parties and make unremitting efforts toward a political settlement of the crisis.

Noting that war has rules and confrontation has a bottom line, Dai said China expresses its grave concern over the tragic crash, and strongly urges relevant parties to strictly abide by relevant international law and international conventions, safeguard the lives and basic rights of prisoners of war, and prevent such tragedy from happening again.

The Russian Defense Ministry said Wednesday that Ukraine launched two missiles at the Il-76, killing all 74 on board, including 65 Ukrainian captive soldiers being transported for a prisoner exchange, six aircraft crew members and three accompanying persons.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has called for an international investigation into the crash.