Beijing reiterates ‘dialogue and negotiation only viable ways’ to solve three-year conflict

China welcomes the United States-Russia talks on the Ukraine crisis and calls on all parties and stakeholders to participate in the process of peace talks at an appropriate time, the Foreign Ministry said.

“On the Ukraine crisis, China believes that dialogue and negotiation are the only viable ways out of the crisis, and has been committed to promoting talks for peace,” Foreign Ministry spokesman Guo Jiakun told reporters at a regular news briefing in Beijing on Feb 18.

The comments came as senior officials from the US and Russia met on that day in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, to begin talks on improving bilateral ties and ending the Russia-Ukraine conflict as it approaches the three-year mark.

The Russian delegation was led by Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, while the US team was led by Secretary of State Marco Rubio and included National Security Advisor Michael Waltz.

The talks were part of Saudi Arabia’s “ongoing efforts to promote global security and peace”, the Saudi Foreign Ministry said.

The US-Russia talks were also expected to pave the way for a possible meeting between US President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin.

The US State Department emphasized that the Ukraine peace efforts are at an early stage, Reuters reported.

“One phone call followed by one meeting is not sufficient to establish enduring peace,” State Department spokeswoman Tammy Bruce said, referring to the Riyadh talks and the recent phone call between Trump and Putin.

On Feb 17, European leaders met in Paris for an emergency meeting, voicing their continued support for Ukraine but failing to agree on potential peacekeeping missions after the end of the crisis.

“Today in Paris we reaffirmed that Ukraine deserves peace through strength. Peace respectful of its independence, sovereignty, territorial integrity, with strong security guarantee,” European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and European Council President Antonio Costa said in a joint statement posted on social media platform X after the meeting.

“Europe carries its full share of the military assistance to Ukraine. At the same time, we need a surge in defense in Europe,” they said.

Von der Leyen will take the European Commission’s College of Commissioners on a trip to Kyiv next week to show support for Ukraine on the third anniversary of the conflict, an EC spokesman said on Feb 17.

The White House distributed a questionnaire to European capitals inquiring about their willingness to provide a security guarantee to Ukraine and participate in a peacekeeping mission, Reuters reported, but leaders at the Paris meeting were unable to reach an agreement.

At the end of the meeting, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said, “I’m prepared to consider committing British forces on the ground alongside others if there’s a lasting peace agreement.”

French President Emmanuel Macron, who put forward the idea, also supported sending troops.

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, who is likely to step down after

Feb 23’s federal election, has rejected sending peacekeepers to Ukraine without US involvement.

He said it is “highly inappropriate” to discuss sending troops before a peace plan is decided upon.

Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk said before leaving for Paris on Feb 17 that he had “no plans to deploy Polish soldiers to Ukraine”.

Xinhua and agencies contributed to this story.

Contact the writers at chenweihua@chinadaily.com.cn