Madam President,

I thank High Representative Izumi Nakamitsu for her briefing. I have also listened very carefully to the statement by Mr. Roger Waters.

Just two days ago, the Security Council held an open meeting on the humanitarian situation in Ukraine, where all parties expressed their apprehension about the humanitarian repercussions of the conflict. It should be noted that the large and incessant flow of weapons and ammunition into the conflict region will cause greater civilian casualties, more displaced groups, and a heavier humanitarian toll on innocent civilians.

More worryingly, some countries keep sending weapons to the conflict areas and expanding the category and range of weapons used, hereby engaged in a proxy war, which will further stoke tensions, amplify the risk of triggering strategic miscalculation, and cause the fighting to escalate and spread further, diminishing the already bleak prospect of ending the conflict. One cannot help to worry about the potential protraction and expansion of the conflict.

High Representative Nakamitsu, in her briefings to the Council, repeatedly indicates that the flow of weapons and ammunition into the conflict region may bring about proliferation risks. Similarly, Interpol and some African leaders have also sounded the alarm. Relevant parties should pay great attention thereto, adopt strict control measures, prevent the proliferation of weapons and ammunition, particularly stop them from falling in the hands of terrorists and armed groups, and avoid creating new instability in a greater geographic region. In this regard, the dire consequences of conflicts in Afghanistan, Iraq, Syria, and Somalia serve as sobering lessons. It is our hope that relevant countries, especially European countries, will take seriously the significant threat posed by weapons and explosive remnants of war to post-war recovery and reconstruction as well as to regional peace and stability, revisit with a sense of responsibility and in the long-term perspective the complex impact and severe consequences caused by the large influx of weapons on the Ukraine crisis and international peace and security.

Madam President,

The crisis in Ukraine is global and multifaceted in nature, to which there is no purely military solution. In the past year, increasing sanctions and upgrading weapons did not calm the situation, but instead made the conflict more acute and issues more complicated, pushing the situation to a more dangerous precipice.

As many other peace-loving countries, China has repeatedly stressed that dialogue and negotiation are the fundamental way out to end the conflict and restore peace. We call upon the international community to build synergy for facilitating dialogue and peace, encourage parties to the conflict to return to negotiations at an early date and resolve the crisis through political means.

Thank you, Madam President.