China urges Ukraine-Russia to exercise 'maximum restraint'

Rome, March 15 In a meeting with US officials in Rome, China urged Ukraine and Russia to exercise "maximum restraint" in the ongoing war that has continued for 20 days as of Tuesday, the media reported.

The remarks were made by Yang Jiechi, who heads China's Central Foreign Affairs Commission, during the seven-hour meeting with US National Security Adviser (NSA) Jake Sullivan in the Italian capital on Monday.

"All parties should exercise maximum restraint, protect civil and prevent a large-scale humanitarian crisis," the BBC quoted Jiechi as saying in a read-out summary of the meeting published by China on Tuesday.

China was committed to promoting peace talks, and "the international community should push the situation to cool down as soon as possible", he said.

Yang however, added that the "legitimate concerns of all parties" would need to be addressed.

During the meeting, the US NSA raised a range of issues in US-China relations, with substantial discussion of Russia's war against Ukraine, the White House said in a readout.

Yang and Sullivan also "underscored the importance of maintaining open lines of communication between the United States and China", it added.

According to the White House, Monday's meeting was a follow up on the November 15, 2021 virtual summit between US President Joe Biden and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping.

Since Russia launched its war on February 24, China has refrained from condemning Moscow, saying that its "security concerns" should be taken seriously, reports the BBC.

At the same time, China has also expressed "unwavering support" for Ukraine's sovereignty.

Meanwhile, US security officials have accused China of signalling its willingness to supply Russia with weapons, a claim which Beijing has dismissed as "disinformation".