China urges political solution to Kosovo issue

China on Monday called on all parties concerned to continue to push ahead with the process of dialogue on the Kosovo issue, and find a political solution to it.

Liu Jieyi, China's permanent representative to the UN, made the appeal at a meeting of the Security Council on Kosovo.

"China respects the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Serbia and understands the legitimate concerns of that country on the question of Kosovo," Liu told the meeting, noting that Security Council Resolution 1244 provides the essential legal basis for finding a solution to the issue.

"China has always maintained that it's imperative to follow the purposes and principles of the UN Charter, and within the framework of relevant Security Council resolutions, to carry out dialogue and negotiations to reach proper settlement acceptable to all parties concerned," he said.

Noting that the situation in Kosovo is basically stable, but deep-rooted problems remain complicated and unsolved, the Chinese envoy urged all parties concerned to push forward high-level dialogue, remove differences through pragmatic and constructive dialogue, and implement the bilateral agreements that have already been reached.

Kosovo is the subject of a long-running political and territorial dispute between Belgrade and Pristina. Serbia categorically refuses to recognize Kosovo's unilateral declaration of independence in 2008, though most leading European countries and the United States have exchanged diplomats with Kosovo. Endi