CNN, Beijing :
Vladimir Putin is seeking China’s support in Russia’s standoff with Western powers over Ukraine. In a rare phone conversation, Putin briefed his counterpart in Beijing, President Xi Jinping, on “Russia’s position on the issue and measures Russia had taken to tackle the crisis,” the state-controlled Xinhua news agency reported Wednesday.
President Xi said the situation in Ukraine is “highly complicated and sensitive,” which “seems to be accidental, (but) has the elements of the inevitable.”
He added that China believes Russia can “push for the political settlement of the issue so as to safeguard regional and world peace and stability” and he “supports proposals and mediation efforts of the international community that are conducive to the reduction of tension.”
The Chinese leader’s comments followed similarly guarded statements by Chinese
diplomats earlier this week, which neither criticized nor supported Moscow’s actions over Ukraine.
Unsurprisingly, Russia has attempted to depict China’s position as more supportive than it actually is.
In describing an earlier phone call between the foreign ministers of China and Russia, the foreign ministry in Moscow said Monday that there was “a broad convergence of views between Russia and China in connection to the situation in Ukraine and around it.”
In fact, China’s foreign ministry spokesman provided more nuanced statements. “It is China’s longstanding position not to interfere in others’ internal affairs,” Qin Gang said in a regular press briefing over the weekend. “We respect the independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine.”
Qin did not criticize Russia for sending troops into Ukrainian territory but he repeated China’s call for dialogue to resolve the standoff. Referring to the demonstrations in Ukraine’s capital last month that culminated in the removal of pro-Russian President Viktor Yanukovych, he said: “We condemn the recent extreme and violent acts there and have been urging the relevant parties in Ukraine to resolve their internal disputes peacefully.”
Asked if China recognized the new Ukrainian government, he replied: “This requires a judgment to be made based on the laws of Ukraine.”
Spokesman Qin’s equivocation shows the delicate balance China is trying to strike to maintain good relations with Russia without alienating itself completely from the United States and Europe.
