Beijing on Monday called for de-escalation and “restraint” over the Ukrainecrisis as Russia and Ukraine prepared to meet for their first talks sinceMoscow’s invasion of its western neighbour.
Russia invaded on Thursday and quickly announced it had neutralised keyUkrainian military facilities, with Russian President Vladimir Putin onSunday ordering his country’s nuclear forces onto high alert.
Representatives from Moscow and Kyiv are set to meet on the border withBelarus on Monday, after Western allies hit Russia with a slew of sanctionsand pledged arms for Ukraine.
China has trod a cautious diplomatic tightrope on the crisis as it tries tobalance its core foreign policy line — that a country’s sovereignty issacrosanct and others should not interfere — with its support for closeally Moscow.
Instead it has called for Russia’s “reasonable” security demands to beheard, repeatedly refusing to condemn Putin’s actions or use the term”invasion”.
Foreign ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin on Monday urged both sides to”remain calm and exercise restraint to prevent further escalation of thesituation.”
“China pays close attention to changes in the Ukraine situation andsupports all efforts to de-escalate the situation and resolve itpolitically,” Wang said at a regular press briefing.
Read Top Stories
Beijing voted to abstain from a Friday UN Security Council resolutioncondemning Russia’s actions in Ukraine, which was vetoed by Russia.
China’s President Xi Jinping told Putin in a call last week that he hopedthe crisis could be resolved with a “balanced, effective and sustainableEuropean security mechanism through negotiations.”
But as Beijing tries to stick to a neutral position, Chinese nationals inUkraine have claimed to face rising hostility as public perceptions of theAsian country sour given China’s position on the invasion.
The Chinese embassy in Kyiv on Sunday warned citizens not to “provoke”locals and to refrain from revealing their nationality, just days aftertelling those leaving Kyiv to display a Chinese flag on their vehicles.
The embassy had announced Thursday that it would prepare charter flights toevacuate its citizens — but later said it was still too unsafe to do so.-APP/AFP
