The European Union has imposed large-scale and effective sanctions, which have been joined by more than 40 countries. And if China does not support sanctions, at least it should not interfere.
According to Ukrinform, this was emphasized by the President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen in Brussels during a press conference following the virtual EU-China summit.
"No European citizen will understand any support for Russia because of the war. Moreover, it could lead to large-scale reputational damage to China here in Europe," Ursula von der Leyen said.
As China, as a permanent member of the UN Security Council, has a special responsibility to maintain world order, the European Union urges the country not to interfere in the sanctions regime and not to help Russia circumvent the restrictions.
"Let me remind you that every day the volume of trade between China and the European Union is more than 2bn euros in terms of goods and services. For comparison, the volume of trade between China and Russia is a bit more than 300m euros a day. Therefore, the continuation of the war [in Ukraine] and the damage it causes to the world economy does not meet anyone's interests, including the interests of China," the President of the European Commission added.
She also stressed that the European Union continues to support Ukraine.
Following the results of the EU-China summit, the High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Josep Borrell, stated that the European Union and China are jointly responsible for peace in Ukraine.