China and Russia "share the same position on the question of Palestine," China's Special Envoy on the Middle East issue, Zhai Jun, said Friday after meeting with his Russian counterpart in Doha, Qatar on Thursday.
“China and Russia share the same position on the question of Palestine, and China is ready to maintain communication and coordination with the Russian Federation in order to cool down the situation as soon as possible,” Zhai said, according to Chinese state media CCTV.
China has blamed the conflict on the “fact that the legitimate national rights of the Palestinian people have not been guaranteed,” CCTV reported, quoting Zhai.
He also said China is ready to work with Russia “to play a positive role” in the resumption of the peace talks between the two sides, adding Beijing is “heartbroken by the large number of civilian casualties” in the conflict.
“The Russian Federation is ready to work with China to promote an early ceasefire and halt the fighting between the Palestinians and Israelis and to create conditions for an early return to the right track on the Palestinian issue,” his Russian counterpart Mikhail Bogdanov said, according to CCTV.
Zhai also met with Qatar’s Minister of State Mohammed Al-Khulaifi on Thursday in Doha and discussed the “critical” Israel-Hamas conflict, CCTV reported.
Beijing is “heartbroken” by the “sharp deterioration of the humanitarian situation caused by the conflict," Zhai said, calling on “all parties concerned to remain calm and exercise restraint,” according to CCTV.
“Qatar has an important influence on the Palestinian issue,” Zhai said, adding that China is “willing to maintain communication and coordination with Qatar to play a constructive role in easing the current tense situation.”
China is “in the process of intensively communicating with the relevant parties in the international community in order to promote a ceasefire and an end to the fighting,” Zhai said, without specifying the relevant parties.
