China will uphold an “independent and impartial” stance on the Ukraine war, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi told his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov in a phone call, the Chinese foreign ministry said on Monday, August 7.

Earlier this year, China had promised to mediate in the Ukraine crisis and vowed to adhere to an “objective and impartial stance,” and play a constructive role in the political settlement of the war. Since the war started on February 24, 2022, China has refused to condemn Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

China has released a peace plan which was baulked at by Ukraine and Russia to which the US said was not convincing enough given that the Ukranian invasion had not been condemned by China.

 

“The two sides also exchanged views on the Ukrainian crisis and other international and regional issues of common concern. Wang Yi emphasized that on the Ukrainian crisis, China will uphold an independent and impartial stance, make an objective and rational voice, actively promote peace talks, and seek a political solution on any international multilateral occasion,” the Chinese ministry said in a statement.

It added that “Lavrov said that Russia highly agrees with China’s position paper on the political settlement of the Ukrainian crisis, and appreciates and welcomes China’s constructive role in this regard.”

The Russian foreign ministry said the two ministers discussed issues on the international agenda, including the crisis in Ukraine, as well as bilateral relations between Moscow and Beijing. It added that “a number of ‘hot’ regional topics were touched upon, including the Ukrainian crisis,” but did not elaborate on the details of the discussions.