Sending weapons to Ukraine will add fuel to war: China at UN

On Thursday, China’s deputy ambassador to the United Nations, Dai Bing, stated that sending weapons to Ukraine will only add fuel to the fire and escalate tensions rather than bring peace. Addressing the eleventh emergency Special Session on Ukraine in the UN, China’s deputy ambassador, hinting towards West countries, said, “The international community should make joint efforts to facilitate peace talks when aired into the Ukraine crisis, brutal facts offer ample proof that sending weapons will not bring peace adding fuel to the fire will only exacerbate tensions.”

“Prolonging and expanding the conflict will only make ordinary people pay an even heftier price. We reiterate our appeal that diplomacy and negotiation cannot be abandoned efforts towards a ceasefire and talks must go on,” he added.

Dai urged the international community to “stop abusing Unilateral sanctions and long-arm jurisdiction”  rather than fending off the flames and seeking self-interest. Instead, they should take steps to de-escalate the situation.

The remarks by China’s deputy ambassador came after Putin met with China’s top diplomat, Wang Yi, in Moscow.  Putin has stated that he will withdraw from New START, the only major nuclear arms control treaty with the US, and has attempted to blame the West for the Ukraine conflict.

The Russian Federation Council, the upper house of parliament, unanimously passed a bill suspending the New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty, according to the Russian state news agency TASS (New START).
The bill was introduced by Russian President Vladimir Putin and passed the lower house of parliament, the State Duma, earlier Wednesday.

According to TASS, only Putin has the authority to reinstate Russia’s participation in New START.
At the UN, China’s deputy ambassador stated that the international community’s priority should be peace talks. Dai expressed regret that initial negotiations between Kyiv and Moscow had stalled, echoing comments made by China at the Munich Security Conference.

“Dialogue and negotiation is the only viable way to resolve the Ukraine crisis,” Dai said. “At the beginning of the crisis, Russia and Ukraine held several rounds of talks and made important progress. Regrettably, peace talks have since stalled. The reasons behind this warrant deep reflection.”

“We support Russia and Ukraine moving towards each other, resuming direct dialogue as soon as possible, bringing their legitimate concerns into the negotiations, setting out feasible options, putting an early end to the crisis and giving peace a chance,” he added.

In outlining the four points for resolving the Russia-Ukraine conflict, Dai stated that the top priority should be to facilitate ceasefires and the cessation of hostilities as soon as possible. Conflicts and wars have no winners; the more brutal the conflict, the more human suffering. Second, he stated that “dialogue and negotiation” are the only viable options for resolving the Ukraine crisis.

In his third point, he urged the international community to work towards peace rather than bringing weapons. The final goal is to achieve long-term peace and common security.

Dai concluded his speech with the statement, “As a responsible country, china always stands on the side of peace and dialogue and always advocates peace and promotes talks. China will soon issue a position paper on the political settlement of the Ukraine crisis. We’re ready to continue playing a constructive role in resolving the Ukraine crisis and bringing about peace at an early date.”