MOSCOW, August 8. /TASS/. Head of the Ukrainian presidential office Andrey Yermak stated that China is ready to continue its participation in the Saudi-sponsored consultations that were launched at a conference on August 5-6 in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.

"The Chinese representative actively participated in the discussions, expressed his opinion. The main thing we heard from the Chinese representative is that China is ready to continue participating in this format," according to a statement by Yermak following the Jeddah meeting, as quoted by the website of the president of Ukraine.

On August 7, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi stated during a telephone conversation with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov that Beijing has an independent position regarding the Ukrainian issue and is seeking a peaceful resolution. According to the Chinese diplomat, China will actively promote negotiations and act "objectively and rationally."

On August 8, the Global Times newspaper, quoting Chinese experts, remarked that, contrary to Western claims of a "possible change in tone," the position of the Chinese government has remained unchanged. The participation of China simply demonstrates that "it is time for a dialogue."

The consultations in Jeddah on August 5-6 were attended by representatives of more than 40 countries and international organizations including Argentina, Brazil, Chile, China, Egypt, France, Germany, India, Qatar, Great Britain, Turkey, Ukraine, the United Arab Emirates and the United States, as well as the United Nations. According to the DPA news agency, the initial plan was to discuss only Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky’s "peace plan"; however, another initiative was announced by the host country, Saudi Arabia, along with several other countries. Yermak reported that not all points of Zelensky’s so-called peace formula received across-the-board approval from all countries participating in the Jeddah conference.