China: The Chinese President Mr. Xi Jinping and Belarusian leader Mr. Alexander Lukashenko have called for a ceasefire and negotiations to bring about a political settlement to the Ukraine conflict.

In the meeting held in Beijing, the two leaders issued a joint statement in which they expressed “deep concern about the development of the armed conflict in the European region and extreme interest in the soonest possible establishment of peace in Ukraine.”

“Belarus and China are interested in averting an escalation of the crisis and ready to make efforts to restore regional peace and order,” the statement remarked.

The meeting brought together two of the foreign leaders on whom Russian President Mr. Vladimir Putin is most dependent for support in the war against Ukraine.

Recently, China issued a 12-point paper calling for a comprehensive ceasefire in Ukraine that largely summarised China’s previous stance and met scepticism in the West.

The 12-point document urged respect for “the sovereignty of all countries.” The document further condemned the usage of “unilateral sanctions,” an implicit criticism of Ukraine’s Western allies.

Mr. Lukashenko commented that he “fully supports the initiative on international security you have put forward” and praised China’s peace plan.

According to the Belarus President, the meeting was taking place “in a very complicated time” and was necessary to prevent “an uncontrolled descent into a global confrontation that has no winners”.

“This is why Belarus has been actively putting forward its peace proposals and comprehensively supports your incentive on international security,” Mr. Lukashenko added.

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