China’s foreign minister spoke with his Ukrainian counterpart on Tuesday and called for a resolution to the crisis through negotiation, Chinese state media said, as Beijing started evacuating its citizens from the conflict-hit country.
China has been walking a diplomatic tightrope on the Ukraine conflict, balancing its oft-repeated insistence on the sanctity of state sovereignty with an unwillingness to call out its close ally Russia.
Foreign Minister Wang Yi told Dmytro Kuleba during a phone conversation that Beijing “deeply regrets that conflict has broken out between Ukraine and Russia, and is paying extreme attention to the harm suffered by civilians,” state broadcaster CCTV reported.
CCTV said the call took place at Ukraine’s request, and that Wang urged for the two countries to “find a way to resolve the issue through negotiations.”
“(China) supports all constructive international efforts that are conducive towards a political resolution,” Wang said.
According to CCTV, Kuleba said Ukraine “looks forward to China opening mediations in order to realise a ceasefire”.
China began evacuating its citizens from Ukraine in the last few days as fears grow for their safety with anger reportedly rising over Beijing’s refusal to condemn the Russian invasion.
One Chinese national was shot in the waist while travelling by road from eastern Ukraine to the western city of Lviv Tuesday, CCTV reported, adding that they were receiving hospital treatment. No further details were given.
A group of around 600 students had fled the capital Kyiv and the southern port city of Odessa on Monday, the state-run Global Times newspaper reported
