China says ready to work with Russia to ease Middle East tensions

China is willing to continue cooperating with Russia at the UN Security Council to help cool tensions in the Middle East, Foreign Minister Wang Yi told his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov in a phone call on Sunday.



Wang said the fundamental way to resolve navigation issues in the Strait of Hormuz was to achieve a ceasefire as soon as possible, adding that China has always advocated political settlement of hotspot issues through dialogue and negotiation.



The call came ahead of a UN Security Council vote next week on a Bahraini resolution to protect commercial shipping in and around the Strait of Hormuz.



As permanent Security Council members, China and Russia should "adopt an objective and balanced approach and seek to win greater understanding and support from the international community," Wang told Lavrov, in a statement from his ministry.