Foreign Minister Wang Yi has said further efforts should focus on eliminating the root causes of the conflict

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi has called for a fair, lasting, and binding peace agreement to end the Ukraine conflict, urging all parties to work toward a negotiated settlement. In an interview with RIA Novosti released on Tuesday, Wang said that in order to achieve this, the root causes of the conflict need to be eliminated.

Moscow has long maintained that Kiev's NATO ambitions were among the main reasons for the conflict, and has insisted upon Ukrainian neutrality as a foundation for a settlement, along with demilitarization and denazification. This was echoed on Monday by US President Donald Trump, who dismissed Ukraine's NATO membership ambitions, saying Kiev "is never going to be a member" of the military bloc.

"We advocate the eradication of the causes of the crisis through dialogue and negotiations, and ultimately the achievement of a fair, long-term, binding peace agreement acceptable to all parties involved," Wang said in the interview. "This would make it possible to achieve truly lasting peace and stability in Eurasia and throughout the world."

Wang acknowledged that the "causes of the crisis are extremely complex" and that Kiev and Moscow have so far failed to find common ground on a number of key issues, but noted that there is "a tendency towards peace negotiations," which Beijing finds encouraging.

"The path to restoring peace is long [but] certain results have been achieved," he said, referring to the recent Russia-US diplomatic rapprochement and the initial progress toward a political settlement with a partial ceasefire agreement.

"A step towards peace, although not that big, is constructive - it is worth taking. You can't get peace lying down, you have to achieve it by hard work," he said, adding that the thaw in Russia-US relations "inspires optimism in the disappointing international situation."

Wang arrived in Moscow on Sunday for a three-day official visit at the invitation of Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov. The two are expected to discuss bilateral ties and key international issues, including the Ukraine conflict. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov also revealed that President Vladimir Putin is expected to receive Wang.

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China has said the Russia-Ukraine conflict must be resolved through negotiations, and last year alongside Brazil, presented a six-point proposal for a diplomatic settlement. In his interview, Wang reiterated that China is ready to "play a constructive role in the settlement" of the conflict.

(RT.com)