Wang: ‘One cannot call for ceasefire while sending weapons to escalate war’
Beijing, Apr 8 (EFE).- One cannot call for a ceasefire while sending weapons to escalate a war, China’s foreign minister Wang Yi said in a bilateral meeting on the Russian invasion of Ukraine, according the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Wang Yi made the remarks in conversation with Emmanuel Bonne, French President Emmanuel Macron’s main diplomatic adviser, over the phone late Thursday.
Wang said that China looks forward to an early ceasefire and the restoration of peace, but at the same time, it believes that all parties should work to create the necessary conditions for facilitating peace and negotiations instead of fanning flames, China’s foreign ministry said in a statement.
“One cannot call for a ceasefire and cessation of war while sending large quantities of advanced weapons and equipment to further escalate the war,” the statement said, citing Wang.
“And likewise, one can not claim to support dialogue and peace talks while at the same time unscrupulously imposing unilateral sanctions and provoking further escalation of tensions.”
Bonne assured that France has always shown its commitment to peace and that it communicates with all parties, including Russia, on major issues such as Ukraine’s achieving neutrality and obtaining security guarantees, the ministry said.
China has held an ambiguous position on the war, from which it has asked that the territorial integrity of all countries be respected and in which it has avoided using the word “invasion” to refer to the Russian offensive, while reiterating its opposition to sanctions against Moscow.
On Feb. 4, after meeting in Beijing, presidents Vladimir Putin and Xi Jinping proclaimed that their bilateral relations had entered into a new era of cooperation, and underlined the good state of ties between them.
According to Beijing, its relationship with Moscow is that of a strategic partner, but this does not include neither alliance nor confrontation, nor points to other countries. EFE
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