China pleased to see all peace efforts, including consensus reached by US and Russia: Wang Yi on Ukraine crisis

China is pleased to see all efforts toward peace, including the consensus reached by the US and Russia on peace talks, said Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi on Friday at an event on China at the Munich Security Conference (MSC) in Germany in response to inquiries about China's position on the Ukraine crisis.

The endpoint of any conflict is the negotiating table, and history will ultimately be just, Wang said.

At the same time, China expects all parties and stakeholders to engage in the process of peace talks in due course, Wang noted. "As the war is taking place in Europe, it is all the more necessary for Europe to play its part for peace, to jointly address the root causes of the crisis and to find a balanced, effective and sustainable security framework for the lasting peace and stability in Europe," Wang said.

On Wednesday, US President Donald Trump spoke with Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy in separate phone calls and said both men expressed a desire for peace, Reuters reported. 

In a post on Truth Social, Trump said that he and Putin agreed "to stop the millions of deaths taking place" in the conflict, stressing Washington and Moscow will "immediately" engage in direct negotiations aimed at ending the crisis. "We agreed to work together, very closely, including visiting each other's Nations. We have also agreed to have our respective teams start negotiations immediately," Trump said.

According to Reuters, Trump ordered top US officials, including US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Director of the Central Intelligence Agency John Ratcliffe, National Security Advisor Michael Waltz and Special Envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff, to begin talks on ending the conflict in Ukraine.

As the conflict is about to enter its fourth year on February 24, Ukraine and its supporters including Japan and France are preparing to submit to the UN General Assembly a resolution on February 24 that would urge a cease-fire in Ukraine, Kyodo News reported on Thursday. 

Wang also said on Friday at MSC that since the day after the conflict started, China has consistently advocated for a resolution through dialogue and consultation. "President Xi Jinping has put forward a four-point proposal, which is the most authoritative interpretation of China's position, stating that the sovereignty and territorial integrity of all countries should be respected, that the purposes and principles of the UN Charter should be adhered to, that the legitimate security concerns of all parties should be taken into account, and that all efforts toward peace should be supported," Wang said.

"We have actively engaged in mediation based on these principles and have launched the 'Friends for Peace' Group with Brazil and other countries of the Global South. Development of situation has demonstrated that China's views are objective, fair, rational and pragmatic, reflecting the broad consensus of the international community," Wang said.

When questioned about the so-called China supporting Russia through oil and gas trade, Wang said that China and Russia, two major neighbors with long borders, have drawn lessons from past challenges and developed a comprehensive strategic partnership of coordination for the new era that is non-alliance, non-confrontation and not targeting any third party.

"China and Russia have normal economic and trade exchanges. If China does not import oil and gas from Russia, how could it meet its demands and ensure the need of more than 1.4 billion Chinese people?" Wang said.