A high-ranking Chinese government official said on Saturday that the sanctions imposed by Western nations on Russia by invasion to Ukraine are becoming more “outrageous”.
Vice Foreign Minister Le Yucheng also acknowledged Moscow’s point of view on the NATOstating that the alliance should not continue to expand eastward, forcing a nuclear power like Russia into a “corner”.
China has yet to condemn the war in Ukraine or call it an invasion, though it has expressed deep concern about the war. Beijing has also opposed economic sanctions on Russia, which it says are unilateral and not authorized by the UN Security Council.
“The sanctions against Russia they are getting more and more outrageous,” Le told a security forum in Beijing, adding that Russian citizens were being deprived of their assets abroad “for no reason.”
“History has shown time and time again that sanctions cannot solve problems. Sanctions only hurt ordinary people, affect the economic and financial system, and make the world economy worse.”
Russia calls its actions in Ukraine a “special operation” which it says is designed not to occupy territory but to destroy its neighbor’s military capabilities and capture what it sees as dangerous nationalists.
Moscow has demanded legally binding guarantees from NATO that it will stop its expansion and return to its 1997 borders.
“This pursuit of absolute security (by NATO) leads precisely to absolute non-security,” Le said. “The consequences of forcing a great power, especially a nuclear power, into a corner, are even more unimaginable.”
the ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelenskysaid this week that Ukraine could accept international security guarantees that fall short of its long-standing goal of joining NATO.
