China urges Russia, Ukraine to de-escalate, pursue political settlement

China on Wednesday urged Russia and Ukraine to exercise restraint and de-escalate tensions to create conditions for a political settlement of the conflict.

"Dialogue and negotiation are the only viable solution to the Ukraine crisis," Foreign Ministry spokesman Guo Jiakun told reporters in Beijing.

Beijing's remarks came after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy warned that Russian airspace "is becoming completely unsafe."

"Ukraine does not threaten civilian aviation as such-not a single civilian aircraft. There will simply be drones in Russia's skies on a scale that has to be taken into account," he said.

Russian President Vladimir Putin also said Moscow had issued military instructions to prepare for and carry out massive strikes against Ukrainian energy facilities in response to what he described as continued Ukrainian attacks on Russian civilian infrastructure and fuel and energy facilities.

"China urges relevant parties to remain calm and restrained so as to promote de-escalation of the situation immediately and accumulate conditions for the political settlement of the crisis," Guo said.

Last week, Zelenskyy urged China to play a "strong diplomatic role" in efforts to end the Russia-Ukraine war.

"We count on further cooperation and on China playing a strong diplomatic role in bringing Russia's war against our country to an end," Zelenskyy wrote on US social media company X last Wednesday. "Peace can be our shared achievement."