China calls for de-escalation on Ukraine issue

UNITED NATIONS -- A Chinese envoy on Friday called for efforts to de-escalate the situation in Ukraine.

"The urgent priority is to de-escalate the situation, prevent the conflict from spilling over beyond the battlefield, and avoid an escalation of hostilities," said Sun Lei, China's deputy permanent representative to the United Nations (UN).

The parties to the conflict should strictly abide by international humanitarian law, refrain from attacking civilians and civilian infrastructure, and avoid causing harm to third-country civilians and civilian assets, so as to create conditions for a political settlement of the crisis and preserve the prospects for an early realization of peace, he told an emergency meeting of the Security Council on Ukraine.

Recently, the situation has continued to escalate, he said. The two parties to the conflict have continued to carry out large-scale attacks against each other, causing heavy casualties and extensive damage to facilities. Various new types of drones and unmanned surface vessels continue to emerge, with growing lethality and destructive capacity, pushing the situation in an increasingly dangerous direction, said Sun.

"The spillover effects of the crisis are becoming increasingly severe and continue to impact global energy and food security. The Ukraine crisis must not be allowed to continue escalating and spiral out of control. The parties concerned and the international community should work together to seek a political solution," he said.

Sun noted that recently, the parties concerned have engaged in some interactions and contacts while significant differences in their positions remain. China hopes the parties concerned will maintain engagement, demonstrate political will, continue to build consensus, and work together toward a comprehensive, lasting, and binding peace agreement, he said.

Sun said the peaceful and amicable coexistence of Russia and Ukraine is the only realistic choice and is also the common expectation of the international community. China hopes the parties to the conflict will proceed from the fundamental and long-term interests of their respective peoples, respect each other's legitimate security concerns, address the root causes of the crisis on the basis of full, complete, and comprehensive adherence to the principles of the UN Charter, promote a balanced, effective, and sustainable regional security architecture, and truly achieve universal and common security, said Sun.

On the Ukraine issue, China has consistently maintained that the sovereignty and territorial integrity of all countries should be respected, the purposes and principles of the UN Charter should be fully observed, the legitimate security concerns of all countries should be taken seriously, and all efforts conducive to the peaceful settlement of the crisis should be supported, Sun said.

China will continue to work with the international community to make unremitting efforts to usher in the dawn of peace at an early date and achieve a political settlement of the crisis as soon as possible, he added.