China hopes Ukraine crisis has diplomatic solution — Foreign Ministry

BEIJING, SANA- In a telephone conversation with his Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov on Thursday, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi was hopeful that the Ukraine conflict would be resolved through diplomatic negotiations, Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Wang Wenbin said at a briefing on Friday.

“China hopes that all sides will intensify their efforts to find a diplomatic solution to the conflict and achieve a speedy de-escalation and resolution of the current situation at the political level, including through negotiations,” he said.

Wang Wenbin added that the two top diplomats agreed on the need to de-escalate the conflict and to prevent the use of weapons of mass destruction in order to avoid a humanitarian catastrophe.

On February 24, Russian President Vladimir Putin launched a special military operation following a request for help from the leaders of the Donbass republics. In response, the West began slapping ever more sweeping sanctions on Russia and started funneling weapons to Kiev, and the price tag for this military aid is currently estimated at billions of dollars.

Manar Salameh /Mazen Eyon