"Three decades ago, however, China was Ukraine's ally, not Russia's. When Ukraine agreed to give up its nuclear weapons in return for security guarantees from Russia in 1994, China lauded the move and, in December of that year, offered Kyiv nuclear security guarantees should it ever be attacked by a nuclear power. In 2013, Ukraine and China signed a Treaty of Friendship undertaking that none of the sides shall take any action that harms the sovereignty, security, or territorial integrity of the other side."
"As Chinese leader Xi Jinping stood beside Russian President Vladimir Putin in Beijing last week, he claimed to be working towards a true multilateralism in which nations treat each other as equals and avoid hegemonism and power politics a vocabulary the Chinese president returns to with regularity. China is officially neutral in Russia's war in Ukraine, and Xi has presented himself as a mediator, inviting Putin, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and United States President Donald Trump to Beijing in December for talks."
China portrays itself as a neutral mediator and advocates multilateralism and equality while publicly claiming neutrality in Russia's war in Ukraine. Xi's declared 'no limits' alliance with Putin preceded the full-scale invasion and aligns China politically and materially with Russia. China previously offered Ukraine nuclear security assurances in 1994 and signed a 2013 Treaty of Friendship pledging not to harm sovereignty or territorial integrity. China has helped block UN condemnations of Russia's invasion and profits from ties with Russia. Invitations to mediate have contrasted with actions that undermine Ukraine's security guarantees and favor Russia diplomatically and economically.
Read at www.aljazeera.com
Unable to calculate read time
Collection
[
|
...
]