Riyaz ul Khaliq
17 January 2025•Update: 17 January 2025
ISTANBUL
Rejecting US accusations of complicity in the Ukraine war, China has claimed its alleged support to Moscow over Kyiv would have resulted in a different situation on the battlefield.
“If China had really provided military supplies to Russia, the situation on the battleground would not have been where it is now,” Ambassador Geng Shuang told the UN Security Council during a briefing over Ukraine on Thursday in New York.
The Chinese diplomat was responding to a “false narrative” by Washington to “discredit and smear” China over the Russia-Ukraine war, according to a transcript of Geng’s statement at the council.
“If China had provided political cover for Russia, we would not have repeatedly emphasized in public the respect for the sovereignty and territorial integrity of all countries and the adherence to the purposes and principles of the UN Charter,” he said.
He added: “If China really did not want an early end to the war, we would not have sent our special envoys on multiple shuttle diplomacy missions, nor would we have worked with the Global South countries to establish the Group of Friends for Peace on the Ukraine Crisis.”
The war between Russia and Ukraine, which killed tens of hundreds and displaced millions across the border, will complete three years next month.
While Beijing has resisted condemning Russia over what Moscow called a “special military operation,” launched in Feb. 2022, it has called for respect for the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the warring parties.
Last year, Beijing in collaboration with Brazil also launched the Group of Friends for Peace on the Ukraine Crisis, which includes several other nations.
"The fact is... the US has used the Ukraine war to advance its geopolitical strategy and serve its own agenda," Geng told the UN body. "To sum up, first, the US wants nothing more than a weakened and defeated Russia through the war, so as to dominate European security and further increase its influence in Europe."
