China, India Call for Negotiated Way Out of Ukraine War

16 September 2022, Uzbekistan, Samarkand: Russian President Vladimir Putin (R) shakes hands with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi during their meeting on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) summit. (Kremlin/dpa)
16 September 2022, Uzbekistan, Samarkand: Russian President Vladimir Putin (R) shakes hands with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi during their meeting on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) summit. (Kremlin/dpa)
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China, India Call for Negotiated Way Out of Ukraine War

16 September 2022, Uzbekistan, Samarkand: Russian President Vladimir Putin (R) shakes hands with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi during their meeting on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) summit. (Kremlin/dpa)
16 September 2022, Uzbekistan, Samarkand: Russian President Vladimir Putin (R) shakes hands with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi during their meeting on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) summit. (Kremlin/dpa)

China and India on Saturday called at the United Nations for a negotiated end to the Ukraine war, stopping short of robust support for traditional ally Russia.

After a week of pressure at the United Nations General Assembly, Russia's foreign minister took the General Assembly rostrum to deliver a fiery rebuke to Western nations for what he termed a "grotesque" campaign against Russians.

But no major nation has rallied behind Russia, including China, which just days before the February invasion of Ukraine had vowed an "unbreakable" bond with President Vladimir Putin, AFP said.

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi called on both Russia and Ukraine to "keep the crisis from spilling over" and from affecting developing countries.

"China supports all efforts conducive to the peaceful resolution of the Ukraine crisis. The pressing priority is to facilitate talks for peace," Wang said.

"The fundamental solution is to address the legitimate security concerns of all parties and build a balanced, effective and sustainable security architecture."

During his visit to the United Nations, Wang met with Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba, in their first talks since the war began.

Earlier this month Putin acknowledged Chinese "concerns" about Ukraine during a meeting with his counterpart Xi Jinping.

- Limiting material support -
US officials have been heartened by what they see as China's lack of concrete backing for the war and say that Beijing has declined requests to send military equipment, forcing Russia to rely on North Korea and Iran as its own supplies dwindle.

China's reaction to Russia is being closely watched for clues on its approach to Taiwan, a self-governing democracy that Beijing claims as its territory.

Wang held firm that China would take "forceful steps" against any interference, insisting that efforts to prevent "reunification" with Taiwan would be "crushed by the wheels of history."

India, unlike China, has a warm relationship with the United States but it has historic ties with Russia, its traditional defense supplier.

"As the Ukraine conflict continues to rage, we are often asked whose side we are on," said India's foreign minister, Subrahmanyam Jaishankar.

"Our answer, each time, is straight and honest -- India is on the side of peace and will remain firmly there," he said.

"We are on the side that calls for dialogue and diplomacy as the only way out."

- Russia on offensive -
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov at a news conference declined to answer whether there has been any pressure from China. In his speech, he sought to cast blame squarely on the West.

"The official Russophobia in the West is unprecedented. Now the scope is grotesque," Lavrov told the General Assembly.

"They are not shying away from declaring the intent to inflict not only military defeat on our country but also to destroy and fracture Russia."

The United States, he said, since the end of the Cold War has acted as if it is "an envoy of God on Earth, with the sacred right to act with impunity wherever and whenever they want," Lavrov said.

He also blasted the European Union as an "authoritarian, harsh, dictatorial entity" and said the bloc's leadership forced one member state's leader -- Cyprus President Nicos Anastasiades -- to cancel a planned meeting with him.

Lavrov criticized the West for not engaging with Russia, saying, "we have never stepped away from maintaining contact."

Western powers are looking at further sanctions after Putin called up reservists and made a veiled threat to use nuclear weapons, and have vowed not to recognize results of referendums on Russian annexation being held in occupied territories.

They have welcomed Lavrov's isolation, noting how he only showed up at a Security Council session on Thursday to deliver remarks and not to listen to others.

Russia enjoyed one rare voice of support Saturday at the General Assembly. Mali's interim Prime Minister Colonel Abdoulaye Maiga, appointed by coup leaders, hailed the "exemplary and fruitful cooperation" with Moscow.

The junta has welcomed Russia's Wagner Group security firm, despite Western allegations of rights abuses, as France pulled out troops who had been struggling to contain a jihadist insurgency.



China Urges US to ‘Correct Mistakes’ After State Department Website Drops Taiwan Independence Reference 

Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesperson Guo Jiakun gestures during a press conference in Beijing, China, 17 February 2025. (EPA)
Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesperson Guo Jiakun gestures during a press conference in Beijing, China, 17 February 2025. (EPA)
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China Urges US to ‘Correct Mistakes’ After State Department Website Drops Taiwan Independence Reference 

Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesperson Guo Jiakun gestures during a press conference in Beijing, China, 17 February 2025. (EPA)
Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesperson Guo Jiakun gestures during a press conference in Beijing, China, 17 February 2025. (EPA)

China on Monday urged the United States to "correct its mistakes" after the US State Department removed previous wording on its website about not supporting Taiwan independence, which it said was part of a routine update.

The fact sheet on Taiwan, updated last week, retains Washington's opposition to unilateral change from either Taiwan or from China, which claims the democratically governed island as its own.

But as well as dropping the phrase "we do not support Taiwan independence", the page added a reference to Taiwan's cooperation with a Pentagon technology and semiconductor development project and says the US will support Taiwan's membership in international organizations "where applicable".

Beijing regularly denounces any international recognition of Taiwan or contact between Taiwanese and foreign officials, viewing it as encouraging Taiwan's separate status from China.

The update to the website came roughly three weeks after US President Donald Trump was sworn in to his second term in the White House.

Speaking in Beijing, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun said the revisions for Taiwan on the US State Department's website were a big step backwards and "sends a seriously wrong message to Taiwan independence separatist forces".

"This is yet another example of the United States' stubborn adherence to the erroneous policy of 'using Taiwan to suppress China'. We urge the United States side to immediately rectify its mistakes," Guo said.

The United States, like most countries, has no formal diplomatic ties with Taiwan but is its strongest international backer, bound by law to provide the island with the means to defend itself.

"As is routine, the fact sheet was updated to inform the general public about our unofficial relationship with Taiwan," a State Department spokesperson said in an email sent late Sunday Taiwan time responding to questions on the updated website wording.

"The United States remains committed to its one China policy," the spokesperson said, referring to Washington officially taking no position on Taiwan's sovereignty and only acknowledging China's position on the subject.

"The United States is committed to preserving peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait," the spokesperson said.

"We oppose any unilateral changes to the status quo from either side. We support cross-Strait dialogue, and we expect cross-Strait differences to be resolved by peaceful means, free from coercion, in a manner acceptable to people on both sides of the Strait."

On Sunday, Taiwan Foreign Minister Lin Chia-lung expressed his appreciation for what he called the "support and positive stance on US-Taiwan relations".

Taiwan's government rejects Beijing's sovereignty claims, saying that only the island's people can decide their future.

Taiwan says it is already an independent country called the Republic of China, its official name. The Republican government fled to Taiwan in 1949 after losing a civil war with Mao Zedong's communists, who set up the People's Republic of China.