China says dialogue only way out of Ukraine crisis
(VOVWORLD) -Dialogue and negotiations are the only viable solution for the Ukraine crisis, said Chinese President Xi Jinping to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky over the phone on Wednesday.
 Chinese President Xi Jinping (Photo: AFP/VNA)
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It was the first call between Xi and Zelenskyy since the conflict between Russia and Ukraine began early last year.
China will send a special envoy to Ukraine and other countries to conduct in-depth discussions on a possible political settlement of the crisis, Xi said.
He insisted that China always stands on the side of peace, and its core stance is to facilitate talks for peace, adding that China will continue to help Ukraine to the best of its ability.
On his personal Twitter account Zelensky said he believes the phone will give a powerful boost to their bilateral relations. After the call, Zelensky appointed Pavel Ryabikin, Ukraine’s former Minister of Strategic Industries as its new Ambassador to China. Ukraine has not had an ambassador in Beijing since February 2021.
The White House applauded the phone call, but said it’s too early to say if it will lead to some sort of peace between Russia and Ukraine. Meanwhile, France said it also supports any dialogue aimed at ending the conflict between Ukraine and Russia.
On Thursday, Italy said it wants to play an important role in the reconstruction of Ukraine and called on European Union agencies to support the rebuilding.