Washington, (EFE).- The Secretary of State of the United States, Antony Blinken, accused Chinese President Xi Jinping on Monday of not wanting Russian President Vladimir Putin to be held accountable for the invasion of Ukraine.
The leader of US diplomacy made these statements in response to the meeting held this Monday by the presidents of China and Russia in Moscow to discuss Beijing’s proposal to end the war.
“That President Xi traveled to Russia days after the International Criminal Court issued an arrest warrant for President Putin suggests that China does not want to hold him responsible for atrocities in Ukraine,” Blinken criticized.
The secretary suggested that instead of condemning the invasion, Xi would be “providing diplomatic cover for Russia to continue committing those same crimes.”
On the Chinese peace proposal, Blinken said the United States “welcomes any initiative that promotes a just and lasting peace,” which should maintain Ukraine’s territorial integrity.
“Any plan that does not prioritize this fundamental principle is, at best, a delaying tactic or simply seeks an unfair result,” he warned.
That is why the Foreign Minister opposed any request for a ceasefire that does not include an immediate withdrawal of Russian forces from Ukrainian territory.
Otherwise, Blinken continued, it would be “acknowledging Russia’s attempt to seize territories from its neighbors by force” and allowing Putin to prepare “to restart the war” later.
“The world must not be fooled by any tactical moves by Russia, supported by China or any other country to freeze the war on their own terms,” he warned.
The presidents of Russia, Vladimir Putin, and China, Xi Jinping, began their informal meeting in the Kremlin on Monday with the Chinese peace initiative for Ukraine on the table and the eyes of the international community on the visit.
China has maintained an ambiguous stance, defending Ukraine’s territorial integrity on the one hand and advocating taking Russia’s security concerns into account on the other.
China’s peace initiative has been welcomed in Russia with nuances, because respecting territorial integrity would mean returning the occupied territories to Ukraine, while in Kiev they consider that the Chinese plan lacks logic and is full of contradictions, because they cannot be held into account the interests of the aggressor country.