China envoy calls for direct negotiations on crisis

China's ambassador to the United Nations on Monday called for efforts to create an enabling condition for direct negotiations over the Ukraine crisis and warned against the politicization of humanitarian assistance to the Eastern European nation.

The situation in Ukraine is changing sharply and has evolved to a point that China does not wish to see and where it is not in the interests of any party, Zhang Jun, China's permanent representative to the UN, told an emergency special session of the UN General Assembly on Ukraine.

Zhang stressed that the immediate priority is for all parties concerned to exercise necessary restraint and prevent a further worsening of the situation, while stepping up diplomatic efforts for a political solution.

"China welcomes the start of direct dialogues and negotiations between Russia and Ukraine," he said.

"Ukraine should serve as a bridge of communication between the East and the West, rather than an outpost for confrontation between major powers. We call for efforts to create an enabling atmosphere and conditions for direct negotiations between the parties concerned, as this is the fundamental way to resolve the issue."

The envoy said all actions taken by the UN and the relevant parties of the international community should "prioritize regional peace and stability and the universal security for all and should help de-escalate tensions and facilitate a diplomatic settlement".

"China does not approve of any approach that may exacerbate tensions," said Zhang.

China supports UN agencies' continued work on humanitarian aid in Ukraine, said Zhang. "We believe that the safety of civilian life and property and their humanitarian needs should be effectively guaranteed," he said.

As a permanent member of the UN Security Council, China always earnestly fulfills its responsibility of maintaining international peace and security, the ambassador said.

Also on Monday, UN Undersecretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs Martin Griffiths called for the protection of humanitarian workers in Ukraine and for more resources.

"Right now, we urgently need progress on two fronts if we want to reach more people with aid that they need, that they deserve," he told a Security Council meeting on the humanitarian situation in Ukraine.

Refugee inflows

Bracing for more refugee inflows, the European Union is preparing to grant Ukrainians who flee the war the right to stay and work in the 27-nation bloc for up to three years, senior EU and French officials said, thanking volunteers at the borders for helping those who arrive.

"It is our duty to take in those who flee war," French Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin told France 2 TV on Monday, saying the EU's interior minister had on Sunday tasked the European Commission with preparing draft proposals to grant them protection.

Ministers are due to meet again on Thursday to agree on the details.

"Over the last 24 hours, 100,000 people crossed the Polish-Ukrainian border," Maciej Wasik, Polish deputy interior minister, told public broadcaster Polskie Radio 1 on Tuesday.

"In total, since Thursday, there have already been 350,000 refugees."

In Poland, trains continued to bring refugees into the border town of Przemysl on Monday. In winter coats to protect them against near-freezing temperatures, many carried small suitcases as they exited the station.

Poland's UN Ambassador Krzysztof Szczerski, speaking at the General Assembly, said that in addition to Ukrainians, those coming included people of some 125 nationalities.

In the Romanian town of Siret, the EU commissioner for home affairs, Ylva Johansson, visited a border crossing where thousands of refugees were entering from neighboring Ukraine.

Agencies and Xinhua contributed to this story.