‘China has taken Russia’s side’: EU dismisses Beijing’s ‘misplaced’ 12-point position plan for peace in Ukraine

[beijingwalker]

‘China has taken Russia’s side’: EU dismisses Beijing’s ‘misplaced’ 12-point position plan for peace in Ukraine​

• Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen says China’s ‘unlimited friendship’ with Russia challenges credibility of peace proposals
• Position paper released by Beijing on Friday advocated immediate ceasefire, end to sanctions, and abandoning ‘cold war mentality’

Finbarr Bermingham in Brussels

Published: 10:08pm, 24 Feb, 2023

In Tallinn, Estonia on Friday, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen implied that China was not a neutral party in the conflict. Photo: Reuters

The European Union has questioned the credibility of China’s position paper for peace in Ukraine, saying Beijing has already taken Moscow’s side in the war.

A 12-point position paper was released on Friday to mark the first anniversary of Russia’s invasion, opposing the use of sanctions and nuclear weapons, and calling on all parties to stop “fanning the flames” of the war.

Speaking in Estonia, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen implied that China was not a neutral party in the conflict.

“You have to see [the paper] against a specific backdrop. And that is the backdrop that China has taken a side by signing an unlimited friendship right before invasion of Ukraine started,” she said, referring to a cooperation agreement signed by Presidents Xi Jinping and Vladimir Putin in Beijing on February 6 last year.

“So we will look at the principles of course, but we will look at them against the backdrop that China has taken sides.”

This view was also espoused by German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, who told German state broadcaster ZDF: “We should have no illusions about China. They have up until now not taken a stand against Russia.”

The hotly anticipated Chinese proposal reflected talking points its officials and diplomats have frequently made over the past 12 months.

The paper said the “cold war mentality” should be abandoned and “bloc confrontation” should be avoided.

“The security of a region should not be achieved by strengthening or expanding military blocs,” it said.

“Relevant countries should stop abusing unilateral sanctions and ‘long-arm jurisdiction’ against other countries, so as to do their share in de-escalating the Ukraine crisis and create conditions for developing countries to grow their economies and better the lives of their people,” the paper said, in a swipe at the US and Europe.

In an article published on Friday, Dutch ambassador to China Wim Geerts slammed China’s proposal as “politically motivated to conceal Russia’s crimes and to blame ‘the West’ instead”.

“This may fool some, but Ukrainians understand the basic truth that the responsibility for the murder of their compatriots lies with the one who points the gun and pulls the trigger,” he wrote.
In Brussels, EU spokeswoman Nabila Massrali expanded on the EU’s views when asked by the South China Morning Post.

“We have taken careful note of China’s 12-point position paper. It emphasises certain principles of the UN Charter, but is selective and insufficient about the implications for Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine,” she said.

Beijing’s position “builds on the misplaced focus on the so-called legitimate security interests and concerns of parties, implying a justification for Russia’s illegal invasion, and blurring the roles of the aggressor and the aggressed”, she continued.

The paper does not differentiate between the aggressor and the victim in “an illegal war of aggression”, Massrali added.

She “regretted” Beijing’s decision to abstain in a United Nations vote calling for a full withdrawal of Russian troops from Ukrainian soil on Thursday.

“We regret China’s decision to abstain from voting for the resolution, this sends very mixed signals in the light of China’s 12-point position paper,” she said, adding that Brussels is “ready to support any genuine, meaningful negotiating and mediation efforts to end Russia’s war of aggression”.

The paper is expected to be discussed at a virtual meeting of G7 leaders on Friday afternoon, where officials are also expected to discuss fresh allegations that China is considering providing lethal arms to Russia.

German magazine Der Spiegel reported on Thursday that a Chinese drone maker “has agreed to manufacture and test 100 kamikaze drones, before delivering them to the Russian military” as soon as April.

Also speaking in Tallinn, Estonia on Friday, Nato Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said “we have not seen any actual delivery of lethal aid”.

“But what we have seen are signs and indications that China may be planning and considering to supply military aid to Russia, and China should not do that,” he added.

In Beijing on Friday, EU ambassador to China Jorge Toledo reiterated that the provision of arms would be a “red line”.

“[Supplying arms to Russia] is a red line for us, and the consequences of crossing this red line would be very important also for our economic relations. But there is no question about it, there is no case, so we will continue engaging with China now,” Toledo said.

Massrali said that she was “aware of an increasing number of reports and the disturbing rise in accounts of supplies of material which may be used in the war efforts”. “We currently have no clear evidence of China providing lethal weapons systems to Russia,” she said.

In meetings with EU officials, Beijing has denied that it has or ever will provide lethal military assistance to Moscow, top EU diplomat Josep Borrell said earlier this week.

EU rejects Beijing’s ‘misplaced’ plan for peace in Ukraine

Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen says China’s ‘unlimited friendship’ with Russia challenges credibility of peace proposals.

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[beijingwalker]

China calls for ceasefire after releasing 12-point plan to end Russian aggression in Ukraine​

 

[beijingwalker]

China cease-fire proposal for Ukraine falls flat with US, allies​

By Tribune News Service
February 24, 2023

China called for a cease-fire between Russia and Ukraine in a position paper on ending the war that offered some reprieve to Moscow but was quickly dismissed by Kyiv’s allies as the conflict enters its second year.

Several of the 12 points outlined by China in the document issued Friday would, if carried out, offer clear benefits to Russian President Vladimir Putin. That includes a cease-fire, which would freeze Russian troops in place on Ukrainian territory, as well as a call to immediately end all sanctions not endorsed by the UN Security Council, where Russia holds veto power.

National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan, speaking on CNN, brushed off the Chinese proposal, saying it should have ended after the first bullet point, which calls for “respecting the sovereignty of all countries.”

“This war could end tomorrow, if Russia stopped attacking Ukraine and withdrew its forces,” he said.

Asked about the proposal, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said, “China doesn’t have much credibility” in light of its failure to condemn Putin’s war.

But U.S. and European officials worry that the Chinese proposal may get some traction in the global South, which has largely resisted calls to join sanctions against Russia.

The Chinese announcement came a day after the country abstained from a United Nations resolution calling for an end to the war. The measure passed 141-7, with 32 abstentions. The UN resolution included a demand for the withdrawal of Russian troops from Ukraine’s territory.

Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has vowed to continue fighting until Russian troops depart. Moscow has shown no sign of stopping its attacks and continues to claim portions of eastern Ukraine and Crimea as its territory after holding illegal referendums on annexation.

The Chinese initiative “is nothing that Ukraine could accept,” Latvian President Egils Levits said on Bloomberg Television.

The criticism was more muted from Ukraine, which has tried to avoid alienating Beijing since the start of the war.

“Of course Ukraine would like to see China on its side,” said Zhanna Leshchynska, Kyiv’s top diplomat in Beijing. “At the moment, we see that China is not supporting Ukrainian efforts,” but “we hope that they also urge the Russian Federation to stop the war and to withdraw its troops from the territory of Ukraine.”

There was no immediate official comment on the Chinese plan from Russia, which was observing a public holiday Friday.

Beijing has repeatedly defended a few of Russia’s justifications for going to war — most prominently to resist the expansion of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization — while insisting it doesn’t support the invasion itself.

The Chinese initiative is a diplomatic boost for Russia, said Alexander Gabuev, senior fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. “Russia can say publicly it’s not against it, thank its Chinese colleagues and that it’s ready to sit down at the negotiating table.”

“It’s clear no one would seriously agree to this but it will score political points for China and make the West look bloodthirsty and like obstacles to peace,” he said.

Days before releasing the proposal, China’s top diplomat, Wang Yi, met with President Putin in Moscow and called ties between the nations “solid as a mountain.” Chinese President Xi Jinping, meanwhile, hasn’t spoken to Zelenskyy since the war started, despite speaking with Putin at least four times.

Much of China’s proposal on Friday reiterated long-held foreign policy positions in dealing with the U.S. on issues like Taiwan.

“It’s not a peace proposal,” said Jorge Toledo, the European Union’s ambassador to China. “It’s a position paper.”

Wang Wenbin, China’s Foreign Ministry spokesman, hit back at the criticism on Friday, saying the proposal showed that “China is committed to peace talks.”
As the war drags on, there’s rising concern that China may be playing a more active role to help Moscow.

Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Thursday that Beijing probably approved of Chinese firms providing Russia non-lethal, “dual-use” support for its war in Ukraine, remarks that underscore growing U.S. concern that Beijing may help arm Putin’s forces. China has rejected the allegations and accused the U.S. of fanning the conflict by providing weapons to Ukraine.

China cease-fire proposal for Ukraine falls flat with US, allies

China called for a cease-fire between Russia and Ukraine in a position paper on ending the war that offered some reprieve to Moscow but was quickly dismissed by Kyiv’s allies as the conflict enters it...

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