CHINA ACCUSES THE U.S. FOR RUSSIA’S INVASION OF UKRAINE.
Written by AIGBOKHAEBHO OKHUELEIGBE on January 31, 2023
China’s Foreign Ministry has continued to blame the United States for Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, claiming Washington created the conditions that led to the war. Mao Ning, spokesperson for the Chinese Foreign Ministry, told reporters on Monday, claiming the US triggered and is fueling the crisis.
She also condemned the weapons deliveries for inflaming the conflict as it reaches a year since Russia invaded Ukraine with continuous shelling.
The U.S. is the one who triggered the Ukraine crisis and the biggest factor fueling it and has kept selling heavy and assault weapons to Ukraine, which has only prolonged and intensified the conflict.
Ning’s comments came in response to questions about allegations from the U.S. that Chinese companies had been offering support to Russia’s course in the conflict.
She denounced the claims as “unwarranted suspicion and groundless blackmail”.
Mao added that China;
Would not sit by and watch the U.S. harm the legitimate rights and interests of Chinese companies.
The rising diplomatic tensions between China and the U.S. comes just days ahead of a visit by U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, who is expected in Beijing on Sunday and Monday.
Mr Blinken’s trip is the first visit to China by a U.S. secretary of state since 2018.
The Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson also issued a warning to the U.S. over its support for Taiwan, which China views as a breakaway province.
The U.S. has long supplied Taiwan with weapons and offers the self-governing island with extensive military support.
Vladamir Putin’s Russia launched a full scale assault on Ukrainian territory in February last year, a move that has seen some eastern cities of Ukraine come under heavy shelling including the capital Kyiv, amidst a wide range condemnation by global powers especially NATO.
