BEIJING, 25 February 2022, (TON): China repeated calls for talks to resolve the crisis in Ukraine while refusing to criticize Russia’s attack, and in a move that could help reduce the impact of Western sanctions against Moscow, approved imports of Russian wheat.

Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying told reporters at a daily briefing “the Ukraine issue is complex in its historical background, what we are seeing today is the interplay of complex factors.”

Hua said “China is closely following the latest developments.”

“We still hope that the parties concerned will not shut the door to peace and engage instead in dialogue and consultation and prevent the situation from further escalating.”

Although China has not endorsed President Vladimir Putin’s recognition of independence of eastern Ukraine’s separatist areas or Putin’s decision to send Russian forces there, Hua said China “called on parties to respect others’ legitimate security concerns.”

“All parties should work for peace instead of escalating the tension or hyping up the possibility of war,” Hua said, repeating the language China has consistently used to criticize the West during the crisis.