NATO’s secretary general said on Wednesday that the North Atlantic Alliance saw “some indications” that China was considering backing Russia in its war against Ukraine. Stoltenberg urged Beijing to refrain from what could be a violation of international law.
Jens Stoltenberg also said in an interview with the Associated Press that the alliance, although not involved in the military conflict between Kiev and Moscow, will support Ukraine “as long as it takes”.
When asked if NATO had any evidence that China was willing to provide weapons or other military support to Russia, Stoltenberg replied:
“We saw indications that they might be planning this, and of course the NATO allies, the United States, warned about this because it shouldn’t be happening. China should not support the illegal war launched by Russia.
The NATO chief noted that any Chinese assistance would amount to providing “[прямой] support for a flagrant violation of international law, and of course, as a member of the UN Security Council, China should in no way support the violation of the UN Charter or international law.
On Wednesday, Russian President Vladimir Putin received Wang Yi, the Chinese Communist Party’s top foreign policy figure. Western powers have expressed concern that Beijing may be ready to offer serious military support to Moscow.
China pointedly refused to criticize the invasion of Ukraine, echoing Moscow’s assertion that the United States and NATO were to blame for starting the war. According to Beijing, the Russian invasion was the result of a “provocation” by the West. This week, China, Russia and South Africa are holding naval exercises in the Indian Ocean.
Secretary of State Anthony Blinken said any involvement by Beijing in hostilities led by Moscow would be a “serious problem”. Relations between China and the United States have been strained over Taiwan and other contentious issues.
Stoltenberg gave an interview to The Associated Press in Warsaw after representatives from nine countries on NATO’s eastern flank met with US President Joe Biden. The main issue discussed at the meeting was the security of the region.
Stoltenberg stressed that while NATO is “not a party” to the conflict in Ukraine, the alliance’s mission is to “ensure Ukraine’s victory” and “prevent this war from escalating. escalate outside Ukraine and turn into a full-fledged war”. between Russia and NATO.
He added that the main message of the Warsaw meeting was that “we will support Ukraine for as long as necessary”.
President Putin’s victory in the war against Ukraine would be a “tragedy for the Ukrainians”, Stoltenberg said, and would also be a “danger for all” of the countries of the alliance, as it would send “a signal to all authoritarian rulers that when they use military power, they get what they want.”
Stoltenberg added that after talks with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan last week, he believes that Turkey is “close to its willingness to ratify and … welcome Finland into the alliance.” But [Анкара продолжает] declare problems with Sweden”.
The secretary general of the alliance welcomed the fact that he and Erdogan had agreed to an upcoming meeting “of experts and officials in Brussels” from the three countries concerned “to explore how we can progress in the ratification of the Sweden’s membership in NATO.
