A senior Chinese government official on Saturday called sanctions imposed by Western nations on Russia over Ukraine as increasingly "outrageous" and said ‘history has proven time and again that sanctions cannot solve problems. It will only harm ordinary people, impact and worsen the global economy."
"The sanctions against Russia are getting more and more outrageous," Le said at security forum in Beijing, adding that Russian citizens were being deprived of overseas assets "for no reason".
China’s Vice Foreign Minister Le Yucheng also acknowledged Moscow’s point of view on NATO, saying the alliance should not further expand eastwards, forcing a nuclear power like Russia "into a corner".
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China has yet to condemn Russia’s action in Ukraine or call it an invasion, though it has expressed deep concern about the war.
Reportedly, it’s the 25th day of Russian invasion in Ukraine; President Volodymyr Zelenskyy have suspended pro-Russian political parties and condemned Russia’s siege of Mariupol as a “war crime.”
China stood for “maintaining peace and opposing war” and the United Nations maintains at least 847 civilians killed in Ukraine, 6.5 million internally displaced.
Moreover, Poland have pressed for a total trade ban between the European Union and Russia.
Meanwhile, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu told Hurriyet daily that Russia and Ukraine were getting closer to an agreement on “critical” issues and have nearly agreed on some subjects.
He also said that he was hopeful for a ceasefire if the sides don’t take a step back from the progress they have made towards an agreement.
Russia calls its actions in Ukraine a "special operation" that it says is not designed to occupy territory but to destroy its neighbour’s military capabilities and capture what it regards as dangerous nationalists.
In a call on Friday between Joe Biden and Xi Jinping, the U.S. president warned his Chinese counterpart of "consequences" if Beijing gave material support to Russia’s attack, the White House said.
Russia has demanded legally binding guarantees from NATO that it will stop its expansion and return to its 1997 borders.
On Tuesday, Zelenskiy said Ukraine could accept international security guarantees that stopped short of its longstanding aim to join NATO, seen as a major shift.
Keeping Ukraine out of the Western military alliance was one of Russia’s main demands in the months before it launched what it calls a “special operation.”
