BEIJING -- Dialogue and negotiation are the only viable way out of the Ukraine crisis, the Chinese Foreign Ministry said Tuesday.

Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lin Jian made the remarks at a daily press briefing in response to a query about Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov's statement on Monday that Kyiv had launched an overnight drone attack targeting the presidential residence in Russia's northwestern Novgorod region.

"We call on relevant parties to follow the principles of no expansion of the battlefield, no escalation of fighting and no fanning the flames by any party, to promote de-escalation and to create conditions for the political settlement of the crisis," Lin said.