MOSCOW. Nov 5 (Interfax) - Western countries are not interested in the Friends for Peace Chinese-Brazilian initiative, yet Beijing continues its contacts with Moscow and other parties regarding the Ukrainian issue, Chinese Ambassador to Russia Zhang Hanhui said in an article published in the Izvestia newspaper on Tuesday.
"The Friends for Peace platform created by China and Brazil to discuss ways to resolve the conflict has already attracted a sufficient number of participants, mainly among Global South countries. However, the West in general is not showing any interest in this initiative, Ambassador of the People's Republic of China to Russia Zhang Hanhui said in reply to Izvestia's question about a potential role of its representatives in it," the article said.
"The initial objective of this initiative is to secure a peaceful settlement for this conflict," and is also a platform for "all developing countries - countries of the Global South - to rally around," the Chinese diplomat said.
"We have been working for the sake of peace and have always favored a peaceful solution to this conflict. And what counts most is that we want the sides to be able to reach an agreement through talks and consultations on creating a security architecture in Europe that would heed the interests and concerns of all countries involved. It is impossible to protect one's own security interests by infringing upon the interests of other countries. For instance, we are opposed to NATO's eastward enlargement," he said.
Beijing maintains contact with Moscow and other sides regarding the Ukrainian issue, he said.
"We support a dialogue between Russia and Ukraine free from any external interference. We maintain close contact with the Russian Federation. We are also working to secure a solution to the conflict and maintain our contacts with other parties to enable all countries involved to communicate. I think that the only way to end any conflict is through talks. There is no other option," Zhang said.