Special: Malaysian airliner crashes in Ukraine

NANJING - Chinese President Xi Jinping said Saturday that efforts should be made to prevent Ukraine from falling into humanitarian crisis.

When meeting with Ban Ki-moon, secretary-general of the United Nations, Xi described the crash of a Malaysian plane in eastern Ukraine as "a tragedy." The incident showed that "it is important and imperative to properly address the Ukraine crisis," he said.

On July 17, Malaysia Airlines flight MH17, a Boeing 777 en route from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur, went down in eastern Ukraine, killing all 298 people on board. The cause of the incident remains unknown and the investigation cannot go smoothly due to the armed conflicts in the region. Xi said he hoped all relevant parties could make concerted efforts and good use of the existing communication channels and mediation mechanisms to advance a political solution.

Xi urged all parties to negotiate for a program that could take into consideration the interests of all parties in a balanced manner at an early date.

Efforts should be made to "ease the tense situation and avoid acceleration of confrontations and conflicts in an alternative way," he said.

He stressed that China continues to support the UN to play a major part in the process.

Ban said that a political solution, rather than the use of force, is the only right way to resolve the Ukraine issue. The United Nations appreciates China's stance on the issue and hopes China will continue playing a constructive role in advancing dialogue and addressing the Ukraine crisis in a peaceful way.