Chinese diplomat blames US for being ‘main instigator’ of crisis in Ukraine

China has accused the United States of being the main instigator of the ongoing conflict between Russia and Ukraine that began on February 24.

Zhang Hanhui, China’s ambassador in Moscow, said in an interview on Wednesday that Washington was pushing Russia into a corner by expanding the NATO military alliance and supporting forces favoring Ukraine’s alignment with the West.

“As the initiator and main instigator of the Ukrainian crisis, Washington, while imposing unprecedented comprehensive sanctions on Russia, continues to supply arms and military equipment to Ukraine,” Zhang was quoted by the TASS Russian news agency as saying.

“Their ultimate goal is to exhaust and crush Russia with a protracted war and the cudgel of sanctions.”

Russia launched a military operation in Ukraine in late February, following Kiev’s failure to implement the terms of the Minsk agreements and Moscow’s recognition of the breakaway regions of Donetsk and Luhansk.

At the time, Russian President Vladimir Putin said one of the goals of what he called a “special military operation” was to “de-Nazify” Ukraine.

Since the war broke out, the United States and its European allies as well as Canada have imposed waves of sanctions against Moscow.

Zhang said relations between China and Russia had entered “the best period in history, characterized by the highest level of mutual trust, the highest degree of interaction, and the greatest strategic importance.”

China to carry out 'targeted military operations' in response to Pelosi's visit to Taiwan

The Chinese military says it will launch "targeted military operations" in response to US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi

Ukraine has been seeking an opportunity to speak “directly” with China about its ongoing war with Russia, President Volodymyr Zelensky said last week, noting that his country had consistently sought close ties with Beijing in the years preceding the conflict.

“It’s a very powerful state. It’s a powerful economy … So (it) can politically, economically influence Russia. And China is [also a] permanent member of the UN Security Council,” Zelensky said in an interview.

Chinese officials have refused to respond to his requests while contacts between Moscow and Beijing keep expanding. 

Elsewhere in the interview, the Chinese diplomat denounced US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's visit last week to self-governing Chinese Taipei. “Non-intervention in internal affairs is the most fundamental principle of maintaining peace and stability in our world.”

Pelosi’s whirlwind visit to Taiwan sparked fresh tensions between Beijing and Taipei and saw China holding large-scale naval and aerial drills around the island. China considers Taiwan as a breakaway province that should be reunited with the mainland under the internationally-recognized ‘One China’ policy.

Under that policy, nearly all countries recognize Beijing’s sovereignty over the island, including the United States, which has no formal diplomatic ties with the territory. However, in violation of its own stated policy and in an attempt to irritate Beijing, Washington continues to court the secessionist government in Taipei, supporting its anti-China stance and supplying it with massive caches of armament.

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