29 May 2025
President:
I thank Under-Secretary-General DiCarlo and Director Dowden for their briefings.
Recently, Russia and Ukraine held direct talks in Istanbul and reached a consensus on the prisoner exchange. The prisoner exchange has been successfully completed and Russia and Ukraine are about to hold the second round of direct talks. China welcomes these positive developments and supports all efforts towards peace. At the same time, both sides of the conflict are still carrying out large-scale drone and missile attacks, and there is no sign of the war stopping. The number of civilian casualties continues to increase, which is deeply distressing and worrying. This fully shows that the contradictions involved in the Ukrainian crisis are complicated and cannot be resolved overnight.
Here, I would like to make three points: First, the parties to the conflict should demonstrate political will, maintain the momentum of peace talks, resolve the root causes of the crisis through dialogue and consultation, reach a fair, lasting, binding peace agreement accepted by all parties, and ultimately achieve a political solution. Second, the parties to the conflict should strictly abide by international humanitarian law and avoid attacking civilians and civilian infrastructure under any circumstances. Both sides should work together and take positive measures to promote an early cooling of the battlefield situation. Third, the international community, especially important stakeholders, should issue more rational voices for a ceasefire and war, and for peace talks, so as to create a positive atmosphere, favorable conditions, and provide necessary assistance for promoting a political solution to the crisis.
President,
China’s position on the Ukrainian issue is consistent and clear. Since the outbreak of the crisis, we have advocated dialogue and negotiation, and political settlement. We have always followed the “four shoulds” proposed by President Xi Jinping as the fundamental principle, insisting that the sovereignty and territorial integrity of all countries should be respected, the purposes and principles of the UN Charter should be observed, the reasonable security concerns of all parties should be taken seriously, and all efforts committed to peace should be supported. China has maintained communication with both Russia and Ukraine and has been committed to promoting peace and dialogue. We have initiated the establishment of the “Friends of Peace” group on the Ukrainian crisis with Brazil and other global southern countries, with the aim of building international consensus on a political solution to the crisis and promoting peace efforts. On May 13, China and Brazil issued a joint statement on the Ukrainian crisis, supporting direct dialogue between Russia and Ukraine, and looking forward to the relevant parties to start fruitful negotiations and gather more consensus for a political solution. China is willing to continue to play a constructive role in achieving true peace together with global southern countries and the international community.
Thank you, Mr. Chairman.