Ukraine should be a bridge between East and West, Chinese ambassador says

Chinese ambassador to Cyprus, Liu Yantao, told the Cyprus News Agency (CNA), that Ukraine “should function as a bridge between the East and the West, not a frontier in big power confrontation,” stressing that “the Cold War mentality should be discarded completely.”

China is prepared to continue playing a constructive role in facilitating dialogue and working alongside the international community to carry out mediation, if needed, he said.

A “cool head” is needed to solve a complex issue, Liu added, and the purpose and principles of the UN Charter, respect for the sovereignty and territorial integrity of all countries should be upheld. “We must accommodate the legitimate security concerns of relevant parties,” he said.

Through peaceful means, dialogue and negotiation he added “we must keep in mind the long-term peace and stability in the region and forge a […] sustainable European security mechanism.”

Liu said that the Chinese have always made an “independent judgement of the situation” and mentioned that Ukraine has become what it is today because of a variety of complex reasons.

In explaining China’s position, the ambassador said “China advocates common, comprehensive, co-operative and sustainable security. China believes that the security of one country should not come at the expense of the security of other countries, still less should regional security be guaranteed by strengthening or even expanding military blocs.”.

Elaborating further on China’s role to-date, Liu said that Chinese president, Xi Jinping, had spoken with President, Vladimir Putin, on the second day of the conflict and expressed China’s desire to see peace talks happen as early as possible.

Furthermore, Liu said that on March 8, President Xi had a video summit with French president Macron and German Chancellor Scholz, during which Xi had advocated for preventing an “out-of-control” escalation of a tense situation. The Chinese president has called for restraint to prevent a massive humanitarian crisis, Liu said.

The ambassador also said that President Xi called on French and German leaders to work together to reduce the negative impact of the crisis, saying sanctions will affect global finance, energy, transportation and stability of supply chains, in an economy already ravaged by the pandemic, “and this is in the interest of no one.”

According to Liu, China has put forth a six-point initiative to address the humanitarian crisis and said it is necessary to ensure humanitarian operations abide by the principle of neutrality and give full attention to properly sheltering displaced persons.

Civilians must be protected and secondary humanitarian disasters in Ukraine must be prevented. Rapid, safe and unimpeded humanitarian access must be provided and foreign nationals in Ukraine must be safely evacuated. The UNs coordinating role in channelling humanitarian aid should be respected, Liu said.