By Michelle Nichols
UNITED NATIONS (Portal) – China told the United Nations on Thursday that a year after the Ukraine war began, “brutal facts provide sufficient evidence that sending arms will not bring peace,” just days after the United States and NATO had warned Beijing not to give military support to Russia.
“Adding fuel to the fire will only exacerbate tensions. Prolonging and widening the conflict will only make ordinary people pay an even higher price,” China’s Deputy Ambassador to the UN, Dai Bing, told the UN General Assembly.
Western powers have provided arms worth billions of dollars to Ukraine since Russia invaded. The United States and NATO last week accused China of considering arms sales to Russia and warned Beijing against such a move. China has denied the allegations.
Dai addressed the United Nations a day after China’s top diplomat Wang Yi visited Moscow and promised a deeper partnership with Russia. China and Russia announced a borderless partnership shortly before Russia invaded Ukraine.
The European Union’s top foreign policy chief, Josep Borrell, met with Wang in Munich last week. He said he asked Wang about the possibility of Chinese military support for Russia.
“He was very clear and confident,” Borrell told United Nations reporters on Thursday, noting that the couple have had a good personal relationship for many years.
“I can only repeat what he told me: China does not supply arms to Russia and it will not supply arms to Russia because part of their foreign policy is not to arm parties in a conflict,” he said. “We must remain vigilant.”
The 193-strong UN General Assembly will later vote on Thursday on a draft resolution calling for a “comprehensive, just and lasting peace” and urging Russia to withdraw its troops.
“We stand ready to continue to play a constructive role in resolving the Ukraine crisis and establishing peace early on,” Dai said.
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Since Moscow invaded its neighbor on February 24 last year, Russian President Vladimir Putin has repeatedly hinted that Russia could use a nuclear weapon if threatened.
“Nuclear weapons cannot be used, nuclear war cannot be waged,” Dai said. “All parties should unite against the use or threat of use of nuclear weapons, prevent nuclear proliferation and avoid a nuclear crisis.”
(Reporting by Michelle Nichols, Editing by Ismail Shakil and Diane Craft)