Putin ally China says it ‘deeply regrets’ Ukraine conflict and calls for diplomacy

By AFP 1 March 2022, 4:11 pm

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Chinese President Xi Jinping (right) and Russian President Vladimir Putin prior to their talks in Beijing, China, on February 4, 2022. (Alexei Druzhinin/Sputnik, Kremlin Pool Photo via AP)

China’s foreign minister speaks with his Ukrainian counterpart and calls for a resolution to the crisis through negotiation, Chinese state media says, as Beijing treads a difficult diplomatic line on the invasion by its close ally Moscow.

Foreign Minister Wang Yi tells Ukraine’s Dmytro Kuleba 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 reports, adding that Wang calls for the two countries to “find a way to resolve the issue through negotiations.”