Mr President,

China welcomes the Chairperson-in-office of OSCE and Foreign Minister of Slovakia, His Excellency Mr Lajčák, and thanks him for his briefing.

At present, the international situation is undergoing more rapid and profound changes with increasing factors causing instability and uncertainty. Unilateralism and protectionism is on the rise, jeopardizing international order and the global governance system. The world needs multilateralism more than ever. The UN is the banner of multilateralism while the Security Council is at the core of international collective security mechanism. Strengthening international cooperation with the UN at its center is the trend of our times and the common aspiration of all.

China supports the UN in deepening cooperation with regional and sub-regional organizations in accordance with Article VIII of the UN Charter with a view to jointly maintaining international peace and security. Such cooperation should strictly follow the purposes and principles of the UN Charter, vigorously push for settlement of regional hot-spot issues through dialogue and consultation and actively promote preventive diplomacy to diffuse tension through peaceful means. Such actions by regional and sub-regional organizations must be in conformity with international law and the basic norms of international relations, in particular, respect for national sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity.

OSCE is an important partner of the UN. Over the recent years, OSCE has actively conducted preventive diplomacy to enhance regional security and mutual trust and to defuse regional conflicts. Since Slovakia assumed chairmanship, OSCE has given priority to preventing and mitigating conflicts, providing for a safer future and strengthening multilateralism. China commends such efforts. China supports results-oriented cooperation between the Security Council and OSCE in the field of peace and security and hopes that OSCE will continue to play its active and constructive role in maintaining regional peace, security and stability.

On the question of Ukraine, all the relevant parties, OSCE included, have made positive efforts towards a peaceful solution, which China welcomes. We hope that the situation in Ukraine will be stabilized as soon as possible and that all parties will effectively implement relevant SC Resolutions and the Minsk Agreement, stick to the general direction of political settlement and seek a comprehensive solution through dialogue and consultation.

Thank you, Mr President.