A Chinese envoy on Monday urged all parties to exercise restraint and avoid inflammatory remarks and provocative actions to prevent the situation in the Middle East from further escalating or even spiraling out of control. "At present, there must not be any delay in maintaining peace in the Middle East," China's permanent representative to the United Nations Fu Cong said at the UN General Assembly plenary meeting on the implementation of the outcomes of the major UN conferences and summits and the strengthening and reform of the UN system. Lamenting the question of Palestine as "the biggest wound to human conscience," Fu warned that the conflict in Gaza is still dragging on, causing more civilian casualties with each passing day, the fighting has spread to Lebanon, and a full-scale war sweeping the Middle East is "on the verge of breaking out." "We call for the effective respect of the sovereignty, security, and territorial integrity of all countries, oppose all acts that violate basic norms governing inte rnational relations, and condemn all violent attacks against civilians," he said. On the Ukraine crisis, the Chinese envoy said it is "still difficult to see an end," calling on all parties to put peace and people first and truly commit to promoting dialogue for peace and pushing for a political solution to the crisis. Source: Qatar News Agency