Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi met his Ukrainian counterpart Dmytro Kouleba on Friday, September 23, assuring him that Beijing called for respect “the sovereignty and territorial integrity of all countries“, reported Friday a Chinese state media.
The two men spoke on the sidelines of the UN general assembly in New York, their first public meeting since the start of the Russian military intervention in late February. This interview, which could annoy the Kremlin, comes at a time when referendums on annexation by Russia began on Friday in regions of Ukraine controlled in whole or in part by Moscow.
‘Legitimate concerns’
These ballots, described as “simulacraby kyiv and the West, mark an escalation of the conflict. “President Xi Jinping stressed that the sovereignty and territorial integrity of all countries should be respectedWang Yi told his Ukrainian counterpart on Friday. “The legitimate security concerns of all parties must be taken seriouslyWang Yi also said, in a reference to Russian concerns over NATO expansion.
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The men had previously spoken on the phone but had not met since February. A sign that Beijing seems to want to balance its position more, officially neutral but sometimes considered too conciliatory with Moscow by Westerners. Wang Yi had already met this week in New York with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov.
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“Sovereignty and Territorial Integrity”
“China has always been committed to promoting peace talks, never standing idly by, adding fuel to the flames or taking advantage of the situation for personal gain.Wang Yi told his counterpart on Friday. After the meeting, Dmytro Kouleba’s Twitter account posted a photo of a handshake between the two men, against a backdrop of Chinese and Ukrainian flags.
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“My counterpart reaffirmed China’s respect for Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity, as well as its rejection of the use of force as a means of resolving disputes“, he welcomed in his tweet. China and Russia have grown closer in recent years, intensifying their relationship to counterbalance the United States. Beijing has refused to publicly condemn Russia’s military intervention in Ukraine and criticized Western sanctions, but this week reiterated its call for a “cease fire” in Ukraine.