BEIJING, January 26. /TASS/. Beijing hopes that Moscow and Kiev will make efforts to settle the Ukrainian conflict and stop fighting soon, Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Wang Wenbin said, commenting on the crash of a Russian Il-76 plane that was shot down by Ukrainian troops.
"We hope that each of the parties will make efforts toward a political settlement of the crisis and that hostilities will be stopped in the near future," he told a briefing when asked by TASS to comment on the Il-76 incident.
The spokesman also expressed hope for the de-escalation of the conflict. He stressed that political settlement is "the only way to overcome the crisis."
A Russian military transport Il-76 plane carrying 74 people, including 65 Ukrainian captives, who were supposed to be exchanged in a prisoner swap, was shot down by Ukrainian troops over Russia’s Belgorod Region bordering Ukraine on January 24. All those who were aboard died. The Russian defense ministry described the incident as a terror attack. According to the ministry, Kiev was aware that the plane was carrying prisoners who were to be exchanged at the Kolotilovka checkpoint and the attack on the plane was geared to accuse Russia of killing Ukrainian soldiers.