Remarks by Ambassador Geng Shuang at the UN Security Council Briefing on Ukraine |
2024-10-30 17:15 |
President, I wish to thank Assistant Secretary-General Miroslav Jenča for his briefing. I look forward to hearing from the representatives of Ukraine and the DPRK later on. The Ukraine crisis has entered its third year. The fighting on the ground is continuing now with heavy casualties among innocent civilians, massive infrastructure damage, an increasingly grave humanitarian crisis, and ever more prominent spillover effects. China finds this deeply deplorable and worrisome. We once again call on the parties to the conflict to remain rational and exercise restraint, earnestly abide by international humanitarian law, do their utmost to protect the safety and security of civilians and civilian infrastructure, refrain from causing more harm and damage, and prevent the impact of the war on the region from becoming irreversible. To restore peace as soon as possible and promote a political solution to the Ukraine crisis is a shared aspiration of the international community and the common responsibility of all countries in the world. In this Security Council chamber, we have been calling on the parties to the conflict to show political will, meet each other halfway, and start peace talks as soon as possible. We also call on the international community to actively provide assistance and create favorable conditions for this. The current situation has reached another critical moment. With the increasingly severe and complex risks, we once again call on all parties concerned to abide by the three principles of no expansion of the battlefield, no escalation of the fighting, and no provocation by any party, in order to quickly deescalate the situation and prevent the situation from getting out of control. President, China's position on the Ukraine issue is consistent and clear. We have always stood on the side of peace and on the side of dialogue. We have always been committed to promoting peace talks and finding a political solution. It is precisely based on this position that China and Brazil have jointly issued the six common understandings on the political settlement of the Ukraine crisis. And together with the relevant countries of the Global South, we have initiated the establishment of the Group of Friends for Peace, in the hope of building more consensus for peace and consolidating the conditions for the political settlement of the crisis. We will continue to maintain communications with the parties concerned and play a constructive role in promoting a political settlement of the crisis. Just now, some members in their statements mentioned the situation on the Korean Peninsula. On this, we have also made our position clear repeatedly in this chamber. I wish to reiterate that China has always believed that maintaining peace and stability on the Peninsula and promoting a political solution to the Peninsula issue serve the common interests of all parties. We hope that all parties will together make constructive efforts to that end. Thank you, President. |