Chinese President Xi Jinping’s visit to Russia this week following the issuance of an arrest warrant for Russian President Vladimir Putin by the International Criminal Court shows that China does not believe the Kremlin should be held responsible for alleged atrocities committed in Ukraine, US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken said today .

When Putin welcomed Xi to the Kremlin, the head of the State Department told reporters that “the world should not be deceived” by Beijing’s proposals to resolve the conflict in Ukraine. “The world should not be deceived by any tactical decision by Russia, with the support of China or any other country, to freeze the conflict on its own terms,” the head of US diplomacy said.

The US appreciates any diplomatic initiative for a “just and lasting peace” but doubts China’s willingness to preserve “the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine,” he added.

“Any plan that does not put this fundamental principle at the forefront is at best a delaying tactic or simply aimed at promoting an unfair outcome of the war,” the US Secretary of State said, adding: “This is not constructive diplomacy.”

The American Secretary of State also pointed out that the Chinese leadership’s calls for a truce, which do not involve the withdrawal of Russian troops from the occupied Ukrainian territories, actually support the Kremlin’s territorial claims.

At the same time, A. Blinken emphasized that such a truce would only benefit Russia.

“If China is determined to support an end to the war based on the principles of the UN Charter, as indicated in the first paragraph of its plan, then it can, on this basis, start a dialogue with President Zelensky and Ukraine and use its influence. demand that Moscow withdraw its troops, ”said the head of the State Department.

Source: APE-MPE, Reuters, AFP.