China supports all Ukraine peace efforts; Gaza not a ‘bargaining chip’, says Wang Yi
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Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi speaking during a meeting of the United Nations Security Council on Feb 18.
PHOTO: REUTERS
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UNITED NATIONS - China “supports all efforts conducive to peace talks” in Ukraine, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi told the United Nations Security Council on Feb 18, after Russian and US officials met in Saudi Arabia
Mr Wang also emphasised that Gaza and the West Bank are “not a bargaining chip in political trade-offs”. He said Beijing would continue to follow four points outlined by Chinese President Xi Jinping on what should be done.
China’s official Xinhua news agency listed these as respect for the sovereignty and territorial integrity of all countries, observance of the purposes and principles of the UN Charter, paying due regard to legitimate security concerns of all countries, and supporting efforts conducive to the peaceful settlement of the crisis.
Mr Wang chaired a meeting of the 15-member Security Council on multilateralism because China is president for February.
Russia’s UN Ambassador Vassily Nebenzia said that with regard to efforts to end the conflict in Ukraine, it was “becoming clear who genuinely advocates a more fair, more equal world, and who are living in the past and are striving at any cost to make their geopolitical agendas a reality”.
“Any state claiming to act as a mediator in proposing peace initiatives must, first and foremost, clearly understand what caused this conflict,” Mr Nebenzia told the Security Council.
He described the root cause of the conflict as disregard for Russia’s security interests and an aspiration to “inflict a geopolitical defeat on Russia”, as well as failure by Ukraine’s government to respect the rights of its entire population.
On the Middle East, Mr Wang said it is vital to uphold the two-state solution.
US President Donald Trump caused outrage earlier in February when he proposed that the US should take over the Gaza Strip
Mr Wang said: “Gaza and the West Bank are the homeland of the Palestinian people, not a bargaining chip in political trade-offs. The Palestinians governing Palestine is an important principle that must be followed in the post-conflict governance of Gaza.”
He told a press conference after the meeting that while most attention was currently being paid to Ukraine, other issues like Gaza must not be pushed to the side.
“We must realise that in our world today, there’s not just the Ukraine issue. There are also many other hot spots, including the crisis in Gaza, which also require attention from the international community, and these issues must not be marginalised,” he said.
Speaking broadly, the minister said countries “cannot just sit by and watch multilateral institutions become dysfunctional and ineffective due to their own failure to cooperate”.
He urged the Security Council to “rise above narrow-minded, geopolitical considerations” to champion solidarity and cooperation, adding: “Any act of bullying, trickery or extortion is a flagrant violation of the basic norms of international relations. Any unilateral sanction that circumvents Security Council authorisation lacks legal basis, defies justification and contradicts common sense.” REUTERS
