China’s Foreign Ministry responded to Sunday’s massive Russian missile and drone attack on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure by calling on the “relevant parties” to continue working on de-escalation.
This was the response of the spokesperson for the ministry, Lin Jian, to an enquiry from an Ukrinform correspondent to give an assessment of Russia’s criminal actions, due to which hundreds of thousands of Ukrainians were left without heat and electricity amid late autumn cold.
“The relevant parties should responsibly work on de-escalation and accumulate conditions for an early ceasefire and a political settlement of conflict,” Lin said.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of China does not explain how to achieve de-escalation in the war without putting pressure on Russia, which does not stop shelling Ukraine and attempts to seize more Ukrainian territory.
China declares neutrality regarding the Russo-Ukrainian war and states that it does not transfer lethal weapons to the warring parties, rejecting any accusations of military support for Russia.
The Chinese government avoids defining the aggressor and victim in the war, but since the full-scale invasion, it has sharply deepened ties and trade and economic cooperation with the aggressor state, while freezing political communication with Ukraine’s leadership.
Statements by Chinese leaders about the need for de-escalation to end the war remain rhetorical declarations that have no bearing on the situation at the front and are completely ignored by Moscow, Beijing’s closest ally.
As Ukrinform reported earlier, China refrains from criticizing the decision by the United States to cancel the ban on the use of long-range ATACMS missiles by Ukraine against targets inside Russia.
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