In a phone conversation with Russian President Vladimir Putin, Chinese President Xi Jinping reiterated Beijing's support for settling the conflict between Russia and Ukraine through dialogue. 

"Recently, the situation in eastern Ukraine has been changing rapidly, which has attracted increased attention from the international community… China supports the settlement of the conflict between Russia and Ukraine through negotiations," Xi said, according to CCTV. 

Furthermore, the Chinese president urged the international community to drop the Cold War mentality and to respect the legitimate security interests of all countries. 

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Xi also noted that China is ready, through negotiations, to establish a unified, effective and sustainable European security mechanism in line with international law.

"China is willing to work with all parties in the international community to uphold a unified, universal, cooperative and sustainable concept of security, and resolutely defend the international system with the central role of the UN and the international order based on international law," Xi said.

On Putin's part, the Russian president said that Moscow is ready to negotiate with Ukraine at a high level. 

"Russia is ready to negotiate with Ukraine at a high level," Putin said, as quoted by the Foreign Ministry of China.

Yesterday, China's permanent representative to the United Nations (UN) Zhang Jun, called on all sides in the Ukraine crisis to exercise restraint, reiterating China's position on the matter, which is the safeguarding of the sovereignty and territorial integrity of all nations.

"China has been paying attention to the evolving situation in Ukraine. China's position on safeguarding the sovereignty and territorial integrity of all states has been consistent. The purposes and principles of the UN Charter should be jointly upheld."  

However, the position does not overrule the complexity of the situation, which the Chinese envoy acknowledged: "We note that the issue of Ukraine is rooted in a complex web of historical and present factors. An interplay of those factors has driven the situation to this point."

China called on restraint and to seek "reasonable solutions" to the conflict.