BEIJING (Reuters) - A top Chinese diplomat repeated Beijing's call for calm and restraint in Ukraine on Monday, but ducked comment on a referendum in Crimea after the region's Moscow-backed leaders declared a 96-percent vote in favour of joining Russia.
Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Li Baodong, speaking to reporters ahead of a visit to Europe by President Xi Jinping later this month, said that a political settlement was the only way to resolve the Ukraine crisis.
