BEIJING, April 26. /TASS/. Former Chinese Ambassador to Russia Li Hui has been appointed to head China’s delegation for the settlement of the crisis in Ukraine, Yu Jun, a Chinese Foreign Ministry official, said at a special news conference on Wednesday.

Yu Jun, a deputy director general of the ministry’s Department of European-Central Asian Affairs, first said the delegation will be headed by China’s special envoy for Eurasian affairs and referred reporters to the Internet for his name. When asked to confirm whether the name of the delegation’s head is Li Hui, he said, "Yes."

Yu Jun didn’t give the exact date for the delegation’s visit, but said it could travel to several countries.

Chinese President Xi Jinping spoke with Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky by phone and told him that China would send a special envoy to Ukraine to help with the settlement of the crisis.

Li Hui served as the Chinese ambassador to Russia from 2009 to 2019.