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Beijing has repeated its calls for a peaceful settlement of the Ukraine crisis following reports that Vladimir Putin, the Russian president, plans to station tactical nuclear weapons in neighbouring Belarus, reports Nicola Smith.

Last year, the leaders of the five nuclear-weapon states released a joint statement, in which they affirmed that a nuclear war cannot be won and must never be fought and stressed the importance of the avoidance of war between nuclear-weapon states and the reduction of strategic risks, said Mao Ning, a foreign ministry spokesperson on Monday.

Under the current circumstances, all sides need to focus on making diplomatic efforts towards a peaceful settlement of the Ukraine crisis and work together for de-escalation, she added.

Xi Jinping, the Chinese president, proposed a peace plan to end the crisis during a visit to Moscow last week, although it has been met with scepticism in the west as a possible stalling tactic to allow Russia to freeze the war and its territorial gains on its own terms.

Asked if the deployment of nuclear weapons in Belarus would complicate Chinas proposal, Ms Mao said Beijing was in talks with all sides and would continue to play a constructive role, urging the US to help create the conditions for peace talks rather than add fuel to the fire.

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