Russia and China have called for a United Nations Security Council summit over a “heightened global political turbulence”. The foreign ministers of both countries condemned Western sanctions against them and accused the US of political interference.
The two allies, whose relations with the West are under increasing strain, made the call in a joint statement following talks in Beijing between Russian Minister of Foreign Affairs, Sergey Lavrov and his Chinese counterpart, Wang Yi.
“At a time of increasing global political turbulence, a summit of the permanent members of the UN Security Council is particularly necessary to establish direct dialogue about ways to resolve humankind’s common problems in the interests of maintaining global stability.”
China-RussiaJoint statement
Also, in a news conference, Wang sharply criticized sanctions brought by the European Union, Britain, Canada and the United States. The sanctions against Chinese officials were over human rights abuses in China’s Xinjiang region.
“Countries should stand together to oppose all forms of unilateral sanctions. These measures will not be embraced by the international community.”
Wang Yi
Commenting directly on the sanctions, Lavrov also said Russia and China both regarded the measures as unacceptable. He added that the sanctions were drawing Russia and China closer together. And accused the West of “imposing their own rules on everyone else, which they believe should underpin the world order.”
“If Europe broke these relations, simply destroying all the mechanisms that have been created for many years… then, probably, objectively, this leads to the fact that our relations with China are developing faster than what’s left of relations with European countries.”
Sergey Lavrov
Russia, China warn against foreign interference
Russia and China’s joint statement also admonished other countries to refrain from interfering in the pair’s domestic affairs.
“Interference in a sovereign nation’s internal affairs under the excuse of ‘advancing democracy’ is unacceptable.”
China-Russia joint statement
Lavrov added at the news conference that China and Russia view the US as seeking to rely on Cold War military alliances to undermine the “international legal architecture.”
He also stressed that Russia no longer had relations with the EU after Brussels had “destroyed them.” This comment echoes Russia’s declaration that sanctions imposed by the EU and US over the poisoning of Alexei Navalny would have a souring effect on Russia’s bilateral relations with both.
Lavrov, however, stated that Moscow would be ready to work with the EU “if and when the bloc is ready to remove this anomaly in relations.”
China- a challenge and an opportunity
The strain in the ties between Western Countries and China and Rusia comes ahead of NATO meetings later this week. Ahead of the meetings, NATO Secretary-General, Jens Stoltenberg has posited that “there is simply no way for the West to avoid dealing with the rise of China.”
“With China, you can see both a challenge and opportunity. China is coming closer to us, investing in our critical infrastructure. There’s no way we can avoid addressing the security consequences for our regional alliance of the rise of China. And the shift in the global balance of power.”
NATO Secretary-General, Jens Stoltenberg
However, Stoltenberg said this presents “a unique opportunity to open a new chapter in the relationship between North America, the United States and Europe.”
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