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China hopes Kishida’s visit to Kiev will not entail escalation — diplomat

According to Wang Wenbin, the international community should help promote the peace dialogue on Ukraine

BEIJING, March 21. /TASS/. The Chinese authorities hope that Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida’s visit to Kiev will not lead to an escalation of the Ukrainian conflict, Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesman Wang Wenbin said on Tuesday.

"We hope that the Japanese side will undertake actions contributing to the de-escalation of the situation, not the opposite," he said at the briefing, responding to a Japanese reporter’s question about Beijing’s assessment of the visit.

According to the Chinese diplomat, the international community should help promote the peace dialogue on Ukraine. "It is necessary to create conditions for the settlement of the Ukrainian crisis by political means," Wang Wenbin added. Earlier, Kishida, who was the last G7 leader to visit Kiev, headed to Ukraine. According to the Japanese Foreign Ministry, Kishida during his speech in Kiev will condemn Russia, express solidarity with Ukraine, reaffirm Tokyo’s support, as well as point to determination to "support the international rules-based order". On March 23, the head of the Japanese Cabinet will visit Poland.

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