Wang Yi had a phone call with Russian Foreign Minister Lavrov

Xinhua News Agency, Beijing, April 5—A member of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee and Minister of Foreign Affairs Wang Yi held a phone call on April 5 with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, as scheduled, to exchange views on the current situation in the Middle East.

Lavrov said that Russia has a high level of concern about the sustained escalation of the Middle East situation. Regarding the current fighting and the issue of the Strait of Hormuz, Russia holds that military operations must be stopped immediately, and that the parties should return to the political and diplomatic track to address the root causes of the conflict. The UN Security Council should play a constructive role in this regard. Russia is willing to closely communicate and coordinate with China and continue to speak up and make efforts to promote a ceasefire and end the fighting.

Wang Yi said that as China and Russia are permanent members of the UN Security Council, they should uphold justice on major issues, take an objective and balanced approach, and strive to win greater understanding and support from the international community. China has always advocated resolving international and regional hot-spot issues through dialogue and negotiations. At present, the situation in the Middle East is still worsening, and the fighting is still escalating. The fundamental way to address the issue of navigation through the Strait of Hormuz is to stop the fighting and call for a ceasefire as soon as possible. China is willing to continue cooperation with Russia at the UN Security Council, communicate in a timely manner on major matters, and make efforts to cool down the situation as well as to safeguard regional peace and stability and the world’s common security. (End)

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Byline: Liu Wanli SF014