UN General Assembly to meet in rare emergency session on Ukraine

The United Nations General Assembly will meet in an emergency special session on Monday to discuss the Ukraine crisis.

The 15-member Security Council voted in favor on the emergency session on Sunday. It will be the 11th council emergency session since 1956.

The vote by the council was procedural, so Russia could not veto it. The resolution convening the session was adopted with 11 yes votes. Russia voted no. China, India and the United Arab Emirates abstained.

Zhang Jun, China's permanent representative to the UN, reiterated China's position on the Ukraine crisis and cautioned that any action taken by the UN should help calm the situation and facilitate diplomatic solutions.

"At present, we are witnessing dramatic changes in the Ukraine situation. China has on many occasions made clear its position on the Ukraine issue, and that position remains unchanged," Zhang said after the voting.

"We believe the top priority now is for all parties to exercise the necessary restraint to prevent the situation in Ukraine from getting worse. China supports and encourages all diplomatic efforts conducive to a peaceful settlement of the Ukraine crisis and welcomes the earliest possible direct dialogue and negotiations between Russia and Ukraine," he said.

At the same time, said Zhang, "China also supports the European side and Russia in conducting equal-footed dialogue on European security issues and upholding the principle of indivisible security, so as to eventually form a balanced, effective and sustainable European security mechanism."

Zhang stressed that China believes that the Security Council should "give priority to regional peace and stability and the universal security of all countries and play a constructive role in resolving the Ukraine issue".

"Actions taken by the UN should help cool the situation and facilitate diplomatic solutions and restrain from aggravating tensions," he said.

Monday's special session is set to give all 193 members of the global body the opportunity to express their views on the Russian military operation in Ukraine.

The last emergency session was in 1997, when Israel built a housing settlement in East Jerusalem.