A man walks in the middle of a deserted street in central Kyiv on Feb 25, 2022. (DANIEL LEAL / AFP)

BEIJING - President Xi Jinping said on Friday that China supports Russia and Ukraine in resolving their tensions through negotiations, reiterating Beijing's consistent position in respecting countries' sovereignty and territorial integrity and upholding the purposes and principles of the United Nations Charter.

Xi made the remarks in a telephone conversation with Russian President Vladimir Putin following the escalation of the Ukrainian issue on Thursday. Both leaders exchanged their views about the current Ukraine situation.

Xi pointed out that recent dramatic changes in the situation in eastern Ukraine have drawn great attention from the international community, adding that China decides on its position based on the merits of the Ukrainian issue itself

Xi said China decides its position based on the merits of the Ukrainian issue. It maintains that Cold War mentality should be completely abandoned, reasonable security concerns of all countries should be taken seriously and respected, and a balanced, effective and sustainable European security mechanism should be formed through dialogue and negotiation, he added.

Xi's remarks came after Putin briefed him on the historical evolution of the Ukrainian issue as well as the development of Russia's special military operation in the eastern region of Ukraine and Russia's position.

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Putin said that the United States and NATO had been neglecting Russia's legitimate concerns about security issues, broke their commitments and continued to expand eastward with military deployments. Such moves have challenged Russia's strategic bottom line, he added.

The Russian president said his country is willing to develop high-level negotiations with Ukraine.

Xi said that the drastic changes in the situation of the eastern region of Ukraine have drawn a high level of attention from the international community.

China stands ready to work with the international community to promote a vision of common, comprehensive, cooperative and sustainable security, and firmly safeguard the international system with the United Nations at the core and the international order underpinned by international law, he said.

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Xi also expressed to Putin his appreciation that the Russian leader attended the opening ceremony of the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics, and he congratulated the Russian athletes on their outstanding performance in the Games by ranking second in the Games medal tally.

Putin expressed his warm congratulations to the Chinese people on Beijing's complete success in hosting the Games as well as the excellent performance of the Chinese sports delegation in the Games.

  BEIJING, Feb. 25 (Xinhua) -- Chinese President Xi Jinping said Friday that the Chinese side supports the Russian side in solving the issue through negotiation with the Ukrainian side.
   Xi made the remarks in a phone conversation with his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin.  Enditem