BEIJING, June 2. /TASS/. The Ukrainian authorities have expressed their gratitude to China for Beijing’s efforts toward settling the Ukraine crisis and facilitating a dialogue on peace during Chinese Special Representative for Eurasian Affairs Li Hui’s recent international tour of various capitals.

"We held a friendly and sincere meeting; the Ukrainian side thanked China for its constructive role in promoting a peace dialogue [on the Ukrainian crisis]," Li said at a briefing of the China Public Diplomacy Association.

He specified that the Russian-Ukrainian conflict is an issue that requires multilateral efforts. "I would like to stress that China is not directly involved in the Ukraine crisis. <…> The Ukrainian issue is not of a China-Ukraine, China-Russia or China-Europe nature," the diplomat said.

The envoy made assurances that China intended to assist in decreasing the level of escalation and would not "add fuel to the fire."

From May 15 through May 26, Li visited Ukraine, Poland, France, Germany, EU headquarters in Brussels, and Russia. During his tour, he met with Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky and European diplomats, including Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov. Li confirmed that his main goal was discussing the conflict in Ukraine.

From 2008 to 2009, Li Hui was China’s deputy foreign minister. He served as the country’s ambassador to Russia from 2009 to 2019.