Chinese President Xi Jinping said on Thursday that ceasefire must be an urgent priority in the Middle East, following a call with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin.
The presidents showed a united front in their response to the escalating crisis, after their shared geopolitical rival, the US, indicated it had not ruled out joining Israel’s strikes on Iran. During the call, the two leaders exchanged views regarding the situation in the Middle East, reports Chinese news agency Xinhua and Al Jazeera.
Xi outlined China’s principles and position, saying that the current Middle East situation is highly perilous, further proving that the world is entering a new period of turbulence and transformation. If the conflict continues to escalate, not only will the parties directly involved suffer greater losses, but countries across the region will also be severely affected, Xi said, and ensuring civilian safety during armed conflict must be a top priority.
The parties involved in the conflict, especially Israel, should halt military operations as soon as possible to prevent escalation and to firmly avoid the spread of war beyond the region; he urged the “major countries that have a special influence” on parties to the conflict, should make efforts to cool down the situation through dialogue and negotiation, not the opposite, calling on the UN Security Council to play a bigger role in this regard.
Putin, for his part, outlined Russia’s views on the current situation in the Middle East, saying that Israel’s attack on Iran’s nuclear facilities is extremely dangerous. The escalation of the conflict is in no one’s interests, said the Russian president, echoing Xi’s sentiment on communication to resolve this conflict.
As the current situation is evolving rapidly, Putin, too, said that both sides of the conflict should ensure the safety of citizens of the third countries. Putin has presented his country as a potential mediator in the conflict over Iran’s nuclear programme, but he has not been taken up on his offer so far.
The two heads of state spoke highly of the political mutual trust and high-level strategic coordination between China and Russia, and agreed to make joint efforts to safeguard regional peace and stability, advance cooperation in various fields, and deepen the development of the China-Russia comprehensive strategic partnership of coordination.