EU calls on China to be accountable, uphold UN Charter
Beijing, Feb 24 (EFE).- The European Union Delegation in Beijing said Friday, a year on from the start of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, that China should fulfill “its special responsibilities” as a United Nations Permanent Security Council member and “uphold the values of the UN Charter.”
China’s EU Ambassador, Spain’s Jorge Toledo, said in a press conference that no “supposed legitimate security concern” can justify the “Russian war of aggression.”
Since the outbreak of the war, China has called for attention to the “legitimate concerns of all countries,” referring to Russia.
The diplomat spoke of “blatant violations of the United Nations Charter” by Moscow and “aggression, invasion and organization of fraudulent referendums on illegally annexed Ukrainian territories.”
Toledo referred to the document published Friday by China’s Foreign Ministry in which he showed in 12 points his “stance for a political solution to the crisis in Ukraine,” adding that “time is still needed to analyze it.”
Zhana Leshchynska, the charge d’affaires of the Ukrainian Embassy in Beijing, called the publication of the Chinese document “a positive sign” at the same event and expressed her hope to “maintain communication” with the country.
The Ukrainian official she hopes China would “play a more active role” and “urge Russia to stop the war,” adding that the conflict “has also affected relations” between Beijing and Kiev, citing as an example that “bilateral trade between the two countries fell by 50 percent in the last year due to the blockade of ports”
Leshchynska said she has “no sign that China is preparing a conversation” between its President Xi Jinping and Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelenskyy, something that has not occurred since the war began, despite Xi maintaining several talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
The European ambassador also referenced the high representative for Community Foreign Affairs Josep Borrell, who said this month that a supply of arms by Beijing to Moscow would mean crossing “a red line.”
The Ukrainian diplomat referred to the official position of Beijing, which denies providing weapons to Russia, and rejected comparisons between arming Kiev and Moscow.
“Ukraine uses weapons to defend its territory. If someone arms Russia, it will use them to attack another country,” she said.
She said she regrets Beijing “is not supporting” her country’s effort, adding that she rejects the possibility of a ceasefire, a proposal included in the document published Friday by China. She said it would transform the dispute into an “entrenched conflict.”
Toledo, who said Putin “wanted us Europeans to freeze this winter, but we did not,” and spoke of the “importance” of sanctions, combined “with military and economic support for Ukraine,” so “no country can get away with such aggression.”
About a week before the war began, Xi and Putin pledged in Beijing to a friendly relationship “without limits” and China maintained an ambiguous position throughout the conflict, according to which it calls for respect for territorial integrity while opposing sanctions on Moscow for “not solving the problems.” EFE
oh/lds
