At a time when the geostrategic balance is considered fragile, Beijing's exact role in the Ukrainian-Russian conflict is being investigated. A New York Times "bombshell" report comes to prove that China knew about the Russian invasion and even expressed an opinion on the date of military intervention.
As the American media outlet specifically reveals, senior Chinese officials had informed the Russian side in early February not to invade Ukraine before the end of the Winter Olympics in Beijing.
The Times reported that a Western intelligence report proves that senior Chinese officials had some level of knowledge about Russia's plans or intentions to invade Ukraine before it launched the process last week.
Russian President Vladimir Putin met with his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping on February 4 in Beijing before the opening ceremony of the Winter Olympics. Moscow and Beijing issued a 5,000-word statement proclaiming that their cooperation is "without limits."
In the same statement they denounced the enlargement of NATO and pledged to establish a new world system with true "democracy".
China ready to mediate ceasefire
On Tuesday there was a telephone conversation between Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi and his Ukrainian counterpart Dmytro Kuleba, who discussed the dramatic events taking place in Ukraine. During the conversation between the two diplomats, the Chinese Foreign Minister conveyed Beijing's intention to play "a role" as a mediator to Russia to achieve a ceasefire and bring the two sides back to the diplomatic table.
The Chinese government said it was "extremely concerned about the strikes and civilian casualties". The head of Chinese diplomacy stressed to his Ukrainian counterpart that Beijing is ready to assist in ceasefire negotiations while strengthening its ties with Ukraine.
As stated in the Chinese government's official statement, Beijing "respects the territorial integrity of all countries." The statement, however, makes no mention or condemnation of the Russian invasion, and there is also no mention of Moscow's claim for international recognition of Crimea's annexation or for the atonement of the Donbas regions.
Source: protothema.gr
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