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China’s special envoy urges Europe to give thought to causes of Ukrainian conflict

While explaining the reasons for the special military operation Li Hui referred to Russia’s arguments

The Chinese government's special representative for Eurasian affairs Li Hui Russian Foreign Ministry Press Service/TASS

The Chinese government's special representative for Eurasian affairs Li Hui

© Russian Foreign Ministry Press Service/TASS

BEIJING, June 2. /TASS/. The Chinese government's special representative for Eurasian affairs, Li Hui, suggested on Friday that his European counterparts should ponder why the Ukrainian conflict had developed and why Russia had launched a special military operation in Ukraine. The Chinese envoy was speaking in response to a question from a Western journalist who asked him for clarification.

"When I was in Europe, I invited my colleagues from European states to think hard about the root causes of the Ukrainian conflict," Li said at a news briefing of the China Public Diplomacy Association in Beijing following his international tour.

"They can all think hard and draw their own conclusions," Li said.

While explaining the reasons for the special military operation he referred to Russia’s arguments.

"You ask why Russia took such actions. I will answer you with one phrase, which my Russian colleagues shared with me," Li said. "They started the operation to protect the lives, property and security of the people of Donbass."

As the Chinese diplomat specified, regardless of the causes of the Ukrainian crisis "it is necessary to restore peace as soon as possible through negotiations in a political way."

On May 15-26, Li Hui visited Ukraine, Poland, France, Germany, the EU headquarters and Russia. During this trip, he met with Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky and with diplomats from these countries, including Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov. The task, as Li confirmed, was to discuss the Ukrainian conflict.

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