China again calls on the West to engage in dialogue with Russia and take its security concerns into account.

(Sputnik) - Beijing urges the United States, NATO, and the European Union to maintain a dialogue with Russia on equal terms and to be attentive to Moscow's security concerns, said Chinese Ambassador to the United Nations Zhang Jun.

"We encourage the US, NATO, and the EU to maintain an equal dialogue with Russia and address the antagonism and problems that have been building up for years," Zhang said.

Zhang also urged the West to pay attention to the negative effect on Russia's security environment as a result of NATO's eastward expansion and, in accordance with the principle of the indivisibility of security, to try to establish a balanced, effective and sustainable environment in Europe.

The Chinese ambassador urged Russia and Ukraine to continue direct negotiations. "We express our hope that their talks will be fruitful and that peace can be achieved," he said.

Numerous countries, with exceptions such as China, have initiated a series of individual and sectoral sanctions aimed at inflicting the greatest possible damage on the Russian economy in response to the special military operation that President Vladimir Putin launched on February 24 in eastern Ukraine.

The Russian leader claimed that the Donetsk and Lugansk People's Republics, previously recognized by Moscow as sovereign states, had asked for help in the face of Kiev's "genocide."

One of the fundamental objectives of this operation, according to Putin, is "the demilitarization and denazification" of Ukraine.

The Russian Ministry of Defense claims that the military strikes are not directed against civilian installations, but rather aim to disable military infrastructure.

According to the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, a total of 351 civilians have been killed and 707 others injured in Ukraine since February 24.

Furthermore, more than one million Ukrainians sought refuge in neighboring countries in the first week of the conflict, according to the UN.

Ukraine severed diplomatic relations with Russia, imposed martial law throughout the country, as well as a curfew in Kyiv and other cities, declared general mobilization, and urged the international community to activate "all possible sanctions" against the Russian leader.

The UN General Assembly approved on March 1st, by 141 votes in favor, five against, and 35 abstentions, a non-binding resolution deploring the use of force against Ukraine and demanding an immediate end to it.

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