China has called on Russia to postpone the invasion of Ukraine until the end of the Beijing Winter Olympics, it became clear on Wednesday.
Senior Chinese officials made the request in early February after Washington briefed Beijing on the build-up of Russian troops in the hope that communist leaders would pressure their ally to withdraw, a source told Reuters.
Russia is at war with Ukraine four days after the Olympics, and Russian President Vladimir Putin has escalated his military progress and rhetoric in the hours since the closing ceremony.
The New York Times first reported on the secret agreement on Wednesday, citing White House officials and a Western intelligence report. It is not clear whether the talks have reached Chinese President Xi Jinping and Putin.
An expert on China from the Center for Strategic and International Studies said it was unclear whether the authoritarian leaders were in agreement.
“Given the evidence we have so far, I don’t think we can rule out either possibility – that He didn’t know (which is bad) and that He may have known (which is also bad),” said Bonnie Lynn. .
China said the Times report was inaccurate and a “denigration” campaign.
When the Games began, Putin and Xi met in Beijing and issued a joint statement rejecting US and NATO enlargement.
China said on Tuesday it would help Russia-Ukraine ceasefire talks.
The Olympic Games were a backdrop to Russian military aggression during Putin’s rule.
In 2008, China was horrified by Russia’s invasion of Georgia during the Beijing Summer Olympics.
Six years later, Russia took over Crimea while hosting the Sochi Winter Games.
With postal wires
