20 December 2024
President:
I thank Senior Representative Zhong Manquan for his briefing.
At present, the Ukrainian crisis is still dragging on, and there is no sign of the war stopping. A large number of weapons and ammunition continue to flow into the battlefield, the variety and range of which are constantly expanding, and the lethality and lethality are constantly increasing. The risk of leakage and proliferation is accumulating, which is deeply worrying. I would like to reiterate that weapons may win wars, but they cannot win lasting peace. The top priority is to abide by the three principles of “no spillover of the battlefield, no escalation of the war, and no fueling of the flames” and promote the cooling of the situation as soon as possible. We once again call on the parties to the conflict to meet each other halfway and start peace talks as soon as possible, and call on the international community to actively create conditions and provide assistance for this.
President,
At the beginning of the war, China called on the parties to the conflict to cease fire and start negotiations as soon as possible to restore peace. In the past three years, we have said so and done so. China has always insisted on promoting a political solution, always working for peace and working to promote talks. Just the day before yesterday, the “Friends of Peace” Group on the Ukrainian crisis held another meeting. Representatives from 17 “global South” countries, including China, Brazil, Algeria, South Africa, and Turkey, jointly assessed the current situation, expressed concern about the recent escalation of the conflict, reiterated the principle of respecting sovereignty and territorial integrity, and respecting the reasonable concerns of all countries. They once again strongly called for an early cessation of hostilities and a comprehensive and lasting political solution to the Ukrainian crisis based on the UN Charter and international law, and reiterated that the “global South” countries will continue to play a constructive role in this regard.
President,
China’s efforts for peace have been witnessed by the international community and have been recognized and supported by the vast majority of countries. Russia, Ukraine, countries in the “global south” and many European countries have expressed their welcome for China to play a role and make contributions to resolving the Ukrainian crisis. Only the United States has chosen to turn a blind eye to China’s efforts and continues to spread false information in public.
Just now, your colleague Ambassador Wood, speaking as the US representative, said that this was his last time attending the Security Council meeting (he seems to be gone now), but he still did not give up using this last opportunity to attack and smear China, as if the continuation of the war to this day is China’s fault. I have responded to the relevant fallacies of the US many times before, and I will not repeat them today. Given that this may be the last time the Security Council will review the Ukrainian issue this year, and it may also be the last public meeting of the Security Council this year, looking forward to the new year, I would like to express three hopes to the US:
First, China is neither the creator nor a party to the Ukrainian crisis. The United States cannot, on the one hand, hope that China will play a greater role in ending the war, while on the other hand, it constantly denigrates China’s peace efforts and continues to smear and pressure China. We hope that the United States will stop its meaningless blame game, stop provoking confrontation, and work with relevant countries including China to build unity and consensus for a political solution to the Ukrainian crisis and create conditions and atmosphere.
Second, there is no absolute security in the world, and a country cannot build its own security on the insecurity of other countries. The United States, under the banner of maintaining regional security, attempts to weaken and contain other countries and serve its own agenda, which will only bring more disputes and chaos to the world. We hope that the United States will abandon the Cold War zero-sum mentality, stop using the Ukrainian crisis to promote geopolitical strategy, and truly make practical efforts to restore peace and stability on the European continent as soon as possible.
Third, the current situation surrounding the Ukrainian issue is changing. Both sides of the conflict have sent political signals to the outside world, expressing their willingness to negotiate. The international community’s discussions are increasingly focused on negotiations and moving closer to peace. This fully demonstrates that the momentum for ceasefire and restoration of peace is accumulating. We hope that the US side will face up to the changes in the situation, stop clamoring for war, stop obstructing the international community’s efforts for peace, and get on the right path of promoting a political solution to the crisis as soon as possible.
Thank you, Mr. Chairman.