WASHINGTON: President Joe Biden sought to prevent Beijing giving new life to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in a video call with his Chinese counterpart on Friday as Russian forces pressed on with bombardments of towns and cities.
China is the one big power that has yet to condemn Russia’s assault and Washington says it fears Beijing may be considering giving Moscow financial and military support, something that both Russia and China deny.
Chinese President Xi said conflicts such as the events in Ukraine were in no one’s interests, and that NATO should hold talks with Russia to resolve the factors behind the conflict, but did not assign blame to Russia for the invasion.
The White House said only that the two men spoke for just under two hours. The Chinese leader that Beijing would pay a steep price if it directly supports Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, a warning at a time of deepening acrimony between the world’s two largest economies.
Earlier, US Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman said Xi should tell Russian President Vladimir Putin to end “this war of carnage” in Ukraine. She said China should ensure it does not end up on the wrong side of history over Ukraine by supporting Russia.
“China needs to stand on the right side of history. It needs to ensure that it does not backfill, financially or in any other way, sanctions that have been imposed on Russia,” she told US media.
READ MORE: Russian missiles strike Ukrainian city of Lviv
President Xi told Biden that conflicts and confrontations were in non-one’s interests, according to a Chinese foreign ministry statement. “The top priorities now are to continue dialogue and negotiations, avoid civilian casualties, prevent a humanitarian crisis, cease fighting and end the war as soon as possible,” Xi said.
He said all parties should support Russia-Ukraine dialogue and negotiations while Washington and NATO should also conduct talks with Russia to solve the “crux” of the Ukraine crisis and resolve the security concerns of both Russia and Ukraine, the statement said Major nations should “respect each other, reject the Cold War mentality,” and “refrain from bloc confrontation,” the Chinese foreign ministry statement said.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said the Biden administration was concerned China was considering directly assisting Russia with military equipment for use in Ukraine which Beijing has denied.
Blinken said Biden would make clear to Xi that China will bear responsibility if it supported Russia’s “aggression” and Washington “will not hesitate to impose costs.” Russia says it is carrying out a special military operation in Ukraine.
Washington is also concerned that China could help Russia circumvent Western economic sanctions. Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has killed hundreds of civilians, reduced city areas to rubble and sparked a humanitarian crisis as millions flee the country. read more
Russia fired missiles at an airport near Lviv on Friday, a city where hundreds of thousands had sought refuge far from Ukraine’s battlefields, as Moscow tries to regain the initiative in its stalled campaign against Ukraine.
