BEIJING, March 25. /TASS/. The political settlement of the Ukrainian crisis requires efforts on the part of many countries, especially the United States, as Kiev’s combat capabilities depend on its military assistance, Zhao Huirong, Director of the Ukraine research office at the Institute of Russian, Eastern European and Central Asian Studies, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, told TASS on Saturday.

"[During his Moscow visit, Chinese leader] Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin exchanged opinions on the Ukrainian issue and the two sides reached consensus," Zhao said. The Russian leader praised China’s attitude toward solving the problem and assured that he was open to resuming negotiations. "That was a positive signal in the context of the political settlement of the crisis in Ukraine," she underscored.

"Of course, the political settlement of the Ukrainian crisis would require efforts on the part of many sides, especially the United States, because Ukraine relies much on military assistance from the US and its Western allies for its combat effectiveness," Zhao said. "It is only by starting peaceful negotiations and ending the conflict that a larger humanitarian catastrophe can be prevented," she added.

In February, the Chinese Foreign Ministry published a position paper on a political settlement of the crisis in Ukraine. This twelve-point document included calls for a ceasefire, respect for the legitimate interests of all countries in the field of security, settlement of the humanitarian crisis in Ukraine, exchanges of prisoners of war between Moscow and Kiev, as well as the cancellation of unilateral sanctions imposed without a corresponding decision of the UN Security Council.

Following talks with Xi on Tuesday, Putin said that many provisions of China’s peace plan on Ukraine could be used as a basis for the conflict settlement whenever the West and Kiev were ready for that. At the same time, he pointed out that so far, "no such readiness" could be seen.

Xi was on a state visit in Russia from March 20 to 22, his first foreign trip since he was re-elected as Chinese leader on March 10.