Monitoring Desk
ISLAMABAD/BEIJING: China’s Foreign Minister Qin Gang on Tuesday said China was “deeply worried” about an escalation of the Russia-Ukraine conflict and possibility of the situation spiralling out of control, said on Tuesday.
Beijing, which struck a “no limits” partnership with Moscow the previous year, refrained from condemning Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. The United States (US) has warned of consequences if China provides army support to Russia, which Beijing says it is not doing.
“We have to urge certain countries to stop fuelling the fire immediately,” Qin said during a speech, adding that these nations must also “stop hyping up ‘today Ukraine, tomorrow Taiwan'”.
He said, “We stand firmly against any form of hegemony, against any foreign interference in China’s affairs.”
Also on Tuesday, China has released a paper on the Global Security Initiative (GSI), President Xi Jinping’s flagship security plan, which aims to uphold the principle of “indivisible security”, a concept endorsed by Russia.
Ukraine conflict
BEIJING’s top diplomat Wang Yi called for a negotiated settlement to the Ukraine conflict during a stopover in Hungary before a visit to Russia.
China has refrained from condemning Russia operation against Ukraine or calling it an “invasion” in line with the Kremlin, which describes the conflict as a “special army operation” designed to protect Russia’s security.
United States Secretary of State Antony Blinken warned that the US was concerned China was considering providing “lethal assistance” to Russia, which he said would have severe consequences in their relationship.”
