A Chinese envoy on November 26 called for restraint to avoid further escalation of tension between Russia and Ukraine.

Wu Haitao, China's deputy permanent representative to the United Nations, told the UN Security Council that China has noted the altercation between Russian and Ukrainian naval ships in the waters near the Kerch Strait, adding that China is "concerned with the tension arising thereof."

"China hopes and calls for the relevant parties to exercise restraint to avoid any further escalation of tension and properly resolve the relevant issues through dialogues and consultations," said Wu.

The ambassador said that China has all the long maintained its objectivity and impartiality on the Ukrainian crisis, adding that China respects the sovereignty and territorial integrity of all countries including Ukraine and opposes any external forces interfering in Ukraine's internal affairs.

"We're always of the view that military solution will get nowhere," he noted.

"China is of the view that all the relevant parties should earnestly implement the new Minsk Agreement, stay the course of political settlement through dialogue and consultation to seek a comprehensive solution to the Ukrainian issue," he said.

UN political affairs chief Rosemary DiCarlo told the Security Council that the UN strongly urges both Russia and Ukraine to refrain "from any ratcheting up of actions or rhetoric" and reminded both of the need to contain this incident so as to prevent a serious escalation.

She told the Security Council that the UN could not independently verify what had happened.

An emergency meeting of the Security Council was called for on November 26 morning over the escalating situation, which was chaired by Wu.

On November 25, the Ukrainian Navy said that Russian forces opened fire and seized three Ukrainian ships near the Kerch Strait, which separates the Black Sea and the Sea of Azov.

Six Ukrainian military sailors were wounded in the attack and two of them were in serious condition, the Ukrainian Navy said.

Russia's Federal Security Service (FSB) said that three Ukrainian ships, namely Berdyansk, Nikopol and Yany Kapu, breached the Russian border and conducted dangerous maneuvers in spite of orders of the accompanying vessels from the FSB and Russia's Black Sea Fleet.

(Xinhua News Agency November 26, 2018)