Sculpture outside the Ministry of Foreign Affairs building in BeijingBEIJING, Mar 2 China welcomes talks between Russia and Ukraine and will continue to play a constructive role in resolving the Ukrainian crisis, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin said at a briefing on Wednesday, «China will continue to play a constructive role in helping to de-escalate the situation in Ukraine,» he said. Wang Wenbin stressed that China has always supported and encouraged all diplomatic efforts that contribute to a peaceful resolution of the Ukrainian crisis. «We welcome the start of peace talks between Russia and Ukraine. We hope that both sides will continue the process of dialogue and negotiations and will strive for a political solution that takes into account their legitimate security interests,» — the diplomat added. Russia launched a military operation in Ukraine early in the morning on Thursday, February 24. President Vladimir Putin called its goal «the protection of people who have been subjected to bullying and genocide by the Kiev regime for eight years.» For this, according to him, it is planned to carry out «demilitarization and denazification of Ukraine», to bring to justice all war criminals responsible for «bloody crimes against civilians» in Donbass. The first round of negotiations between the delegations of the Russian Federation and Ukraine took place on February 28 in Belarus. According to the Ukrainian publication Zerkalo Nedeli, the second round of talks between Russia and Ukraine may take place on Wednesday, March 2.
