Chair,

The Ukraine crisis remains protracted. Recently, Russia and Ukraine had a second round of direct negotiations in Istanbul, reached agreements on issues such as the exchange of remains of soldiers who have been killed and seriously wounded soldiers, and planned for the next round of negotiations to be held at the end of this month. This represents another small step towards peace. China welcomes these positive developments and supports all efforts for peace.

In the meantime, both parties to the conflict are still launching large scale drone and missile attacks, and there are no signs that the fighting will stop. We note with concern recent reports of the Ukrainian drone attacks on multiple Russian airports and Ukraine’s explosive attack on the Crimean bridge. We call on parties to the conflict to exercise calm and restraint, strictly abide by international humanitarian law, and avoid attacks on civilians and civilian infrastructure. We call on the international community and humanitarian agencies to step up efforts for relief and assistance. 

Chair,

The root causes of the Ukraine crisis are complex and intertwined. Hence, there is a need to adopt a comprehensive approach, and there is still a long way to go to restore peace. We need to make more rational voices for peace talks heard and continuously create conditions and build momentum for ending the conflict and promoting peace talks. China’s position on the Ukraine crisis is consistent and clear. We are committed to promoting peace talks and a political settlement of the crisis. China advocates and upholds the vision of common, comprehensive, cooperative, and sustainable security, and maintains that the legitimate security concerns of all countries should be taken seriously. We look forward to an early conclusion of a fair, lasting, and binding peace agreement acceptable for all the parties concerned. We will continue to uphold an objective and just position, engage with all relevant parties, support the international community to forge more consensus for peace, and play a constructive role for a political settlement of this crisis. 

Thank you, Chair.