Mr. President, first of all, I congratulate Pakistan upon its successful presiding over the Council’s work. I commend you and your colleagues for your efforts this month. I would also like to congratulate Panama as it assumes the presidency and wish it great success.

Recently, Russia and Ukraine have held several rounds of direct negotiations and reached some consensus on humanitarian issues, such as the exchange of prisoners of war, making positive progress. At the same time, the crisis persists, and the end of the war is nowhere in sight. Large quantities of weapons and ammunition continue to flow into the battlefield, causing new casualties and damage to infrastructure.

It worries us to see the expanding variety and range of weapons flowing to the battlefield, as well as their growing lethality and destructive power. It was reported recently that both sides have deployed combat robots on the battlefield, showing that the Russia-Ukraine conflict is increasingly becoming a testing ground for new weapons. How warfare itself could undergo dangerous changes.

I wish to reiterate that weapons may win wars, but they cannot bring about lasting peace. The reckless supply of weapons to the battlefield will only intensify confrontation, prolong the conflict, create risks of proliferation, and inflict further casualties and suffering on the people of both sides and the broader region.

The urgent priority is for both sides to work together to de-escalate the situation on the battlefield as soon as possible. They should maintain the momentum of talks, continue to build consensus, and ultimately reach a comprehensive, lasting, and binding peace agreement.

President, since the first day of the war, China has advocated resolving disputes by peaceful means and called on the parties to the conflict to end hostilities, start negotiations, and restore peace sooner rather than later. Over the past three years, guided by principles laid out by President Xi Jinping, we have worked actively for peace and pushed for talks. China will continue to work with the international community to play a constructive role for an early political settlement of the crisis.

Mr. President, earlier the US representative once again put forth false narratives against China. This is completely unacceptable. At previous meetings, I have responded to such accusations time and again. Since the US did it again today, I am compelled to respond again to set the record straight.

First, China did not start the Ukraine crisis and is not a party to it. China has never supplied lethal weapons to either side of the conflict and has strictly controlled exports of dual-use goods, including drones.

Second, the parties to the conflict are not under Council sanctions. China maintains normal trade relations with Russia and Ukraine. By doing so, it does not violate international law or breach its international obligations. China’s legitimate rights and interests must not be infringed upon. In fact, until now, the US has continued its economic and trade activities with Russia. If the US is doing that itself, why doesn’t it allow others to do the same? You can set fire to houses while others can’t even light lamps—is that logic?

Third, the Ukraine crisis is at a critical juncture where we see prospects and hopes for a political solution. It is not right for the US to expect China to play a role in bringing an early end to the war while never ceasing its smear campaigns and pressurizing tactics against China.

We once again urge the US to stop its pointless blame game, stop shifting responsibilities, and play a more constructive role for ending the fighting and promoting peace talks.

Thank you, Mr. President.

Editor: Charriot Zhai