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As fighting intensifies in Kyiv, Chinese diplomat says national sovereignty “applies to the Ukraine issue”
As fighting in Kyiv intensified on Saturday, a top Chinese diplomat defended China’s long-held position on protecting national sovereignty — adding that it “applies equally to the Ukraine issue.”
“China firmly believes that the sovereignty & territorial integrity of all countries should be respected & protected and the purposes & principles of (the UN Charter) abided by in real earnest. This position of China is consistent & clear-cut, and applies equally to the Ukraine issue,” wrote Liu Xiaoming, the Chinese government’s special representative on Korean peninsula affairs.
Liu previously served as the Chinese ambassador to the United Kingdom.
The UN Security Council vote: Liu’s comments are especially striking as China had been one of the three countries that abstained from voting for a United Nations Security Council resolution to condemn Russia’s actions in Ukraine, at a Friday night meeting.
India and the UAE also abstained from voting, while Russia used its veto power as a permanent seat on the council to block the measure. After the vote, 50 countries released a joint statement accusing Russia of abusing its veto power.
China’s position on Ukraine: Over the last few days, as other countries moved to punish Russia and President Vladimir Putin, China has avoided condemning the invasion, instead calling for peace and diplomacy — and pointing the finger at the US instead for “fueling fires.”
Any action from the Security Council “should be truly conducive to defusing the crisis, rather than adding fuel to fire,” said China’s UN Ambassador Zhang Jun on Friday.
