Chinese Foreign Ministry says it is important to de-escalate the conflict in Ukraine as soon as possible

It is now important for all participants in the conflict in Ukraine to make a decision on de-escalation and start searching for political solutions. This was stated by the official representative of the Chinese Foreign Ministry Lin Jian on Monday, November 18.

"It is in the interests of all parties to cease fire and hostilities as soon as possible and seek a political solution," TASS quoted the diplomat as saying.

Commenting on the information about the US, UK and France authorizations to strike deep into Russian territories, Jian noted that the most important thing at the moment should be "cooling the situation."

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The New York Times reported on November 17 that Biden had authorized Ukraine to use U.S. long-range ATACMS missiles to strike Russia. Later, Le Figaro newspaper wrote that France and Great Britain supported this decision, but then this fragment was deleted.

Earlier on November 13, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said that Moscow would regard Kiev's permission to strike deep into Russia as NATO countries' entry into a direct armed conflict. She noted that the response "will be imminent and destructive."

Back in September, Russian President Vladimir Putin emphasized that facilitating Ukraine's use of weapons to strike deep into Russia would be perceived as direct involvement of Western countries in the conflict.

Western countries have stepped up military and financial support for Ukraine amid Russia's special operation to defend Donbass, which began on February 24, 2022. The decision to hold it was taken by the Russian president because of the aggravation of the situation in the region due to the increased shelling by Ukrainian troops.