China, Belarus presidents call for Ukraine cease-fire, talks

BEIJING (AP) — The presidents of China and Belarus have joined in urging a cease-fire and negotiations to bring about a political settlement to the Ukraine conflict. The joint call came in a meeting in Beijing between Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko, a close ally of Russia, and his Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping. That amounted to an endorsement of a Chinese 12-point peace proposal issued Friday that calls for the territorial integrity of all countries to be respected but does not say what will happen to the regions Russia has occupied since the invasion or give details on how the peace process should proceed. China has also said it has a “no-limits friendship” with Russia and has refused to criticize Moscow’s invasion.