China's envoy to the United Nations says the Ukraine crisis is "related to NATO's constant eastern expansion since the Cold War", and has urged NATO to abandon its Cold War mentality and stop "being a troublemaker".

The pursuit of "absolute security and political exclusion and containment by force against a specific party" is the reason why Europe is facing this security plight, Zhang Jun, China's permanent representative to the UN, said at the UN Security Council Briefing on Ukraine on Friday.

He warned that Europe, and even the whole world, would be "caught up in greater turmoil" and called on Russia and Ukraine to cease fire and start peace negotiations as soon as possible.

"The United States, the European Union, and NATO should also sit down with Russia for a comprehensive and in-depth dialogue," Zhang said.

"Based on the principle of security indivisibility, they should discuss how to build a balanced, effective, and sustainable security architecture and realize common security. In this context, every effort should be made to stop any attempt to hype up the conflict and to avoid its escalation and expansion."

Zhang said that NATO claims to be a regional defensive alliance while at the same time constantly seeking to breach its geographic confines and expand its agenda, stoke division and create fears and confrontations.

"This is obviously self-contradictory," he said. "We note with concern that the NATO secretary-general recently made many irresponsible and unfounded remarks on the situation in the Asia-Pacific. We urge NATO to draw lessons from history, abandon the obsolete Cold War mentality and bloc confrontation, and stop dangerous acts of creating imaginary enemies, destabilizing Europe, and messing up the Asia-Pacific."

In addition, Zhang said that while the world faces unprecedented challenges, peaceful development, cooperation, and mutual benefits are still an unstoppable historical trend.

"To strive for a bright future for humankind, all countries should pursue a just cause for common good and promote inclusiveness, mutual learning, peaceful coexistence, and cooperation."

minluzhang@chinadailyusa.com