Russia and China are large independent states, and Beijing is not a party to the Ukrainian crisis, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning said responding to the idea voiced by Finnish President Alexander Stubb to end the conflict in Ukraine with one call.
"Let's start with the fact that China and Russia are independent large states. China is not the creator of the Ukrainian crisis, nor is it a party to it," Mao Ning, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson said.
The PRC will always advocate peace and dialogue and maintain interaction with all parties to the conflict in Ukraine, she added.
"We will continue to play a constructive role in promoting a political resolution of the Ukrainian crisis,” the diplomat concluded.
Earlier on July 3, Finnish President Alexander Stubb said that the conflict in Ukraine could end only if Chinese President Xi Jinping could call Russian President Vladimir Putin. Moscow now depends on Beijing, Stubb added.
"One phone call from President Xi Jinping would solve this crisis,” the Finnish President said. If he [Xi Jinping] said it was time to start peace talks, Russia would be forced to do so. They wouldn't have any other choice," he added.
Earlier, in June, Stubb spoke about China's role in the conflict in Ukraine. Beijing should influence Moscow to establish peace, he then said during a conference in Switzerland.
In turn, First Deputy Chairman of the State Duma Committee on International Affairs Alexei Chepa said that in order to complete the special military operation, US President Joe Biden must call Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelensky. He also recalled that Putin recently spoke about the conditions for peace negotiations.
"If any of the leaders or any political figure is ready to confirm and guarantee the fulfillment of these demands, this will be an opportunity to start negotiations, for which we are always ready,” Alexei Chepa said.