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China's new foreign minister says West fueling fire of war by providing Ukraine with weapons

Qin Gang repeated the thesis of Beijing's neutral position in the war but noted his "boundless friendship" with Russia.

China's new foreign minister says West fueling fire of war by providing Ukraine with weapons
Qin Gang
Photo: CCTV

On Tuesday, at his first press conference after taking office, Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang said that the West is "provoking an armed conflict" and "fueling the fire of war" by providing Ukraine with weapons to defend itself against Russian invasion, Radio Liberty reports.

Qin Gang repeated the thesis of Beijing's neutral position in the war but also stated that he has a "boundless friendship" with Russia, refusing to criticize Russia's invasion of Ukraine or even call it an invasion.

"Peace talks have been repeatedly undermined. There seems to be an invisible hand pushing to prolong and escalate the conflict and using the Ukrainian crisis to serve a certain geopolitical agenda," Qin Gang said, adding that in his opinion, the crisis has "reached a critical point."

He also criticized the United States for deteriorating bilateral relations and Washington's support for Taiwan.

"The United States' perception and views of China are seriously distorted. They view China as their main rival and most significant geopolitical challenge. It's like the first button on the shirt is not fastened correctly, and as a result, US-China policy has completely deviated from the rational and correct path," the Chinese minister said.

Ukraine and the United States have not yet commented on the statements of China's new foreign minister.

Qin Gang was appointed Foreign Minister in late December after a short stint as ambassador to Washington. He succeeded Wang Yi in this position.

Recently, China published a 12-point "position on resolving the Ukrainian crisis," but the document was met with scepticism both in Ukraine and in the West.

According to experts, Beijing is not proposing any new initiatives for a peaceful settlement. And the White House believes that China could still escalate by providing lethal military assistance to Russia.

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