Beijing: China repeated calls for talks to resolve the crisis in Ukraine on Thursday while refusing to criticize Russia’s attack and accusing the U.S. and its allies of worsening the situation.
Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying told reporters at a daily briefing that “the Ukraine issue is complex in its historical background; what we are seeing today is the interplay of complex factors.”
“China is closely following the latest developments,” Hua said. “We still hope that the parties concerned will not shut the door to peace and engage instead in dialogue and consultation and prevent the situation from further escalating.”
Hua accused the West of creating “fear and panic” over the crisis and said the U.S. was fueling tensions by providing weapons to Kyiv. She said China opposes new sanctions on Russia.
Although China has not endorsed President Vladimir Putin’s recognition of the independence of eastern Ukraine’s separatist areas or Putin’s decision to send Russian forces there, Hua said China “called on parties to respect others’ legitimate security concerns.”
