Pressure on Russian President Vladimir Putin will not lead to a resolution of the Ukrainian crisis, stated Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Guo Yejun.

“Dialogue and negotiations are the only possible way to resolve the crisis in Ukraine. Coercion and pressure will not solve the problem,” he emphasized during a press briefing. The diplomat was responding to a question from a Western journalist, who asked him to comment on U.S. President Donald Trump’s opinion that Chinese President Xi Jinping “could exert significant influence on Putin” regarding Ukraine.