China calls for resuming peace talks to resolve Ukraine crisis

BEIJING, Feb. 24 (Xinhua) -- China has called for international efforts to create conditions for the resumption of peace talks to resolve the Ukraine crisis.

China on Friday released a paper stating its position on the political settlement of the Ukraine crisis, saying dialogue and negotiation are the only viable solution to the Ukraine crisis.

The international community should stay committed to the right approach of promoting talks for peace, help parties to the conflict open the door to a political settlement as soon as possible, and create conditions and platforms for the resumption of negotiation. China will continue to play a constructive role in this regard, said the paper.

All parties must stay rational and exercise restraint, avoid fanning the flames and aggravating tensions, and prevent the crisis from deteriorating further or even spiraling out of control, it said.

All parties should support Russia and Ukraine in working in the same direction and resuming direct dialogue as quickly as possible, so as to gradually deescalate the situation and ultimately reach a comprehensive ceasefire, it added.

All measures conducive to easing the humanitarian crisis must be encouraged and supported, and parties to the conflict should avoid attacking civilians or civilian facilities, protect women, children and other victims of the conflict, and respect the basic rights of prisoners of war (POWs), the paper said.

China opposes armed attacks against nuclear power plants or other peaceful nuclear facilities, said the paper, adding that the threat or use of nuclear weapons should be opposed, and nuclear proliferation must be prevented and nuclear crisis avoided.