China says protracted Ukraine crisis not in the interests of all parties

China's Foreign Minister Wang Yi attends a high level meeting of the United Nations Security Council on the situation amid Russia's invasion of Ukraine, at the 77th Session of the United Nations General Assembly at U.N. Headquarters in New York City, U.S., September 22, 2022. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid

An expanded and protracted Ukraine crisis is not in the interests of all parties, China's Foreign Minister Wang Yi told his Polish counterpart Zbigniew Rau on the sidelines of a United Nations General Assembly meeting in New York on Wednesday.

China hopes that the "flame of war" will go out as soon as possible, a Chinese foreign ministry statement on Thursday cited Wang as saying.

(Reporting by Ryan Woo; Writing by Meg Shen; Editing by Hugh Lawson)