China urges all parties in Ukraine to truly implement Minsk deal

UNITED NATIONS - China on Wednesday called on all parties in Ukraine to truly implement the Minsk agreement in a comprehensive manner so as to ensure that ceasefire is achieved.

Wang Min, China's deputy permanent representative to the UN, made the appeal at a meeting of the Security Council on the question of Ukraine.

Noting that violent attacks have continued to take place in eastern Ukraine, Wang said China is worried and concerned about this.

"We hope that all parties will continue to engage a constructive dialogue, with a view to agreeing on the balanced, lasting and comprehensive political solution," Wang said.

China supports all the actions that will contribute to the dialogue and consultation and will continue to play a positive and constructive role for a political solution to the question of Ukraine, he said.

"China believes that a political solution is the only way out on the question of Ukraine," Wang added.

At the meeting, briefing on the situation in Ukraine showed that over the past weekend, particularly on the night of Nov 9, hostilities were at their worst in months, with a heavy exchange of artillery shelling in and around Donetsk.

The tension has escalated since Ukrainian authorities decided to repeal law which grants "special status" to Donetsk and Lugansk regions, which raised fears that a process of prisoners-of-war swap may be disrupted.

The Ukrainian government and the insurgent leadership inked a ceasefire deal on Sept. 5 in the Belarussian capital city of Minsk, aiming at de-escalating the tension and facilitating the release of hundreds of prisoners-of-war.

But after Kiev decided to abolish the law on "special status" of the two regions, the insurgent leadership said they will not observe the Minsk peace protocol.

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