Beijing, Mar 22: Consensus on the need for peace talks to resolve the Ukraine conflict is growing, Chinese Special Representative on Eurasian Affairs Li Hui said on Friday.

“The second impression is that consensus on peace talks is growing,” Li told a news conference following his European tour aimed at finding political solutions to the Ukraine conflict.

The diplomat said different parties have their own positions on peace talks, and these positions differ greatly, but all parties believe that the conflict should be solved through negotiations.

Li added that China advocates convening an international peace conference recognized by both Russia and Ukraine, with equal participation of all parties.

Li further said the priority is to achieve peace in Ukraine.

“We believe that the most pressing task today is to achieve peace. The sooner peace talks start, the fewer the losses will be,” he said.

Li also said China did not participate in several peace conferences to resolve the Ukraine conflict because only one of the two major parties was invited.

“This is because China believes that the conferences failed to invite two major parties for participation, and only one party’s plan was discussed,” Li told the briefing, speaking about reasons why China missed these conferences.

The diplomat added that such conferences lack representation, and they cannot achieve significant results or play a proper positive role in restoring peace.

The diplomat ended his second European tour aimed at finding political solutions to the Ukraine conflict on March 12. He visited Russia, Belgium, Poland, Ukraine, Germany and France, where he held talks with government officials.

Politico has reported earlier, citing officials, that Beijing might boycott future peace talks on Ukraine if Russia is not a party to them.

UNI