Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan (center) speaks during a round of Russian-Ukrainian talks at the Dolmabahce Palace in Istanbul, Turkey.Photo: VCG

Foreign ministers from Russia and Ukraine praised China's fair and just stance on the current Russia-Ukraine conflicts, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian told a press conference on Thursday, stressing China will continue to play a constructive role on the Ukraine issue and encourage parties involved to resolve the conflict through talks and diplomatic channels. 

China has reiterated its stance on the Ukraine crisis for several times and hopes the conflict will end soon, said Zhao. "We also hope all relevant parties to stop fanning flames over the situation, but encourage both sides of the conflicts to sit down and solve the problems via talks and diplomatic channels like what China is doing." 

He made the remarks in response to questions at the regular press conference on whether China will communicate with Russia on ending the ongoing Russia-Ukraine conflict and whether China will hold talks with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. 

Recently, the Xinhua News Agency released interviews with foreign ministers of Russia and Ukraine in which they both appreciated China's fair and just stance on the current situation, Zhao said. 

In a written interview with Xinhua on April 30, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said that "We are grateful to Beijing and other BRICS partners for their balanced position on the Ukrainian issue."

On the same day, Xinhua also released a written interview with Ukraine Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba, in which Kuleba said that "I would also like to express my gratitude to the Chinese side for taking the stance of avoiding further escalation of the situation." 

In responding to US' hyping of "China's aiding to Russia," Zhao noted that the Chinese Embassy in the US has debunked the rumor. The US making such disinformation shows that it is the top lie maker.  

On May 2, the US State Department issued on its website a statement entitled "People's Republic of China Efforts to Amplify the Kremlin's Voice on Ukraine," claiming that Chinese officials and media "routinely amplify Kremlin propaganda, conspiracy theories, and disinformation" on the Ukraine issue, which rationalizes Russia's unjustified and unprovoked war against Ukraine and show China's support for Russia.

The Spokesperson of the Chinese Embassy in the US said in a statement on Wednesday that China's position on the Ukraine issue is impartial, objective and beyond reproach.

"When it comes to spreading disinformation, the US side should seriously reflect on itself. It is the US officials and media who have spread rumors that China knew in advance and tacitly supported Russia's military action, and helped Russia evade sanctions and provided military support to Russia. This is disinformation in every sense of the word," read the statement.

Zhao said at the press conference Thursday that China has always been the victim of US' disinformation. From the genocide allegation to the "Wuhan virus" and from cyberattack to overseas military bases, the US has splashed so much dirty water on China. 

On the Ukraine crisis, the US has also never stopped smearing China. It hyped China learned Russia's plans in advance, claimed Russia asked China to offer weapons … All these rumors have been fabricated in seeming details but rebutted by facts,' Zhao said.

As the initiator and biggest instigator of the Ukraine crisis, the US government should reflect on its responsibility in causing the conflict and work with the international community to solve the problems through political means, said Zhao.

Global Times