Amid threats of Russia sanctions, China calls for restraint
On Tuesday, Russian President Vladimir Putin sent troops into two rebel-held regions in eastern Ukraine, following his recognition of them as independent states a day earlier.
The move, which Russia called "peacekeeping", led to the promises of a hailstorm of sanctions from Western powers, including the US and the UK.
China, on the other hand, adopted a different tone. After an emergency meeting of the UN Security Council on Monday, China's envoy to the United Nations called for "all parties" to exercise restraint and avoid "fueling tensions" in Ukraine, but offered no condemnation.
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China's UN Ambassador Zhang Jun said Beijing welcomed and encouraged every effort for a diplomatic solution, adding that all concerns should be treated on the "basis of equality", the CNN reported.
"The current situation in Ukraine is the result of many complex factors. China always makes its own position according to the merits of the matter itself. We believe that all countries should solve international disputes by peaceful means in line with the purposes and principles of the UN Charter," Zhang said.
At the same emergency meeting, US Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield said that recognising Luhansk and Donetsk – the breakaway regions – as independent was part of Russia's bid to create a reason to invade Ukraine, the BBC reported.
Mirroring the steps taken against Russia in 2014 after the annexation of Crimea by Moscow, Britain has already announced sanctions against five Russian banks – Rossiya, IS Bank, GenBank, Promsvyazbank and the Black Sea Bank – and three people – Gennady Timchenko, and billionaire brothers Igor and Boris Rotenberg.
US President Joe Biden is mulling cutting Russia out of the international financial system.
Meanwhile, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz has suspended the crucial Nord Stream 2 pipeline, which would have increased European reliance on energy from Russia, the CNN reported.
