BEIJING, March 7. /TASS/. The crisis in Ukraine is a ‘tragedy’ that could have been avoided, Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang said on Tuesday at the annual press conference on the sidelines of the National People's Congress (parliament) session.

"The Ukrainian crisis is a tragedy that could have been avoided," Qin Gang said. According to him, the scale of the crisis is a sad lesson for everyone.

"The crisis in Ukraine is essentially the result of catastrophic contradictions on European security management," the Chinese foreign minister pointed out.

He also stressed that China has always been in favor of dialogue and against unilateral sanctions. The country also sought to de-escalate tensions instead of adding fuel to the fire.