File photo

New York (People’s Daily) - Permanent Representative of China to the UN Zhang Jun expressed concern over reports about the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant at an emergency UN meeting on the security of Ukraine's nuclear facilities on Friday.

Zhang said China attaches great importance to nuclear safety and security, and hopes that the parties concerned will act with great caution, and with specialized technical assistance from the IAEA Secretariat, working together to ensure the safety of nuclear facilities inside Ukraine.

Zhang pointed out that the Ukrainian crisis is still undergoing complex changes. The most important thing right now is to ease tension, avoid more civilian casualties, intensify diplomatic efforts, and get back as soon as possible to the track of political settlement.

"Russia and Ukraine have held two rounds of direct dialogue and negotiations, and have reached preliminary agreement on setting up a humanitarian corridor. China welcomes this, and hopes that it can facilitate better protection of civilians and help with the safe evacuation of all foreign nationals, including Chinese nationals," Zhang said. "We encourage Russia and Ukraine to remain committed to the overall direction of political settlement, and reach a negotiated solution that accommodates the legitimate concerns of the two parties and contributes to Europe’s lasting peace and security."

Zhang emphasized that China welcomes all diplomatic efforts conducive to political settlement.

"We have played and will continue to play a constructive role to this end. The international community should stay cool-headed and rational, and adopt a responsible, impartial and objective attitude to create a sound atmosphere and conditions for direct negotiations between the parties. Any action must contribute to de-escalation and diplomatic settlement, rather than adding fuel to the fire, leading to further escalation and deterioration of the situation,” Zhang added.