BEIJING — Beijing urged direct negotiations between
Russia and Ukraine during a Saturday call between Chinese foreign minister Wang
Yi and his American counterpart Antony Blinken, as the war following Moscow’s
invasion entered a tenth day.
اضافة اعلان
The exchange marked the first call between
the country’s top diplomats since the beginning of hostilities marked by heavy
Russian bombardment and fierce resistance from Ukrainian fighters who maintain
control of the capital
Kyiv.
China has walked a cautious diplomatic line
since the conflict began, refusing to condemn Moscow’s actions after only last
month touting a “no limits” friendship between the two countries.
On Saturday, Wang told Secretary of State
Blinken: “We encourage direct negotiations between Russia and Ukraine,” according
to a statement released by the Chinese foreign ministry.
“We hope that the fighting will stop as soon
as possible... and that a large-scale humanitarian crisis will be prevented,”
Wang added, conceding negotiations between the two countries would not be
“smooth sailing”.
Blinken, meanwhile, said the world was
“watching to see which nations stand up for the basic principles of freedom,
self-determination and sovereignty,” according to State Department spokesman
Ned Price.
But while the US and numerous other countries
have imposed a wide range of sanctions against Moscow,
China has yet to refer
to the crisis as a war.
Wang reiterated the complexity of the issue
Saturday, saying it was “closely related to the security interests of all
parties”.
He added that the US,
NATO, the EU, and Russia should conduct dialogue
and “pay attention to the negative impact of the continuous eastward expansion
of NATO on Russia’s security environment” — a key Russian talking point.
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