China calls on all parties to exercise restraint in the Ukraine crisis. Even
so, Russia's concerns about safety on the European continent cannot be ruled
out by the United States (US).
"We call on all parties to remain calm and refrain from doing things that
trigger tensions and escalate the crisis," Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi
said in a statement as quoted by Newsweek, Friday (28/1/2022).
The statement came after Wang Yi had a telephone conversation with his US
counterpart, Foreign Minister Antony Blinken. In the phone call, Wang raised
the possibility of forging a new Minsk Agreement.
The accord, also known as the Minsk Protocol, is a peace plan signed in 2014
and 2015 that brought a truce to the separatist war in eastern Ukraine.
"To solve the Ukraine issue, we still need to go back to the new Minsk
Agreement—the starting point," Wang said.
"The new Minsk Agreement, which has been approved by the Security Council,
is a fundamental political document that is recognized by all parties and
must be implemented effectively," he continued.
"As long as efforts are made in line with the direction and spirit of the
agreement, China will support them," he stressed.
During the conversation, Wang Yi gave Blinken advice on how to calm the
growing tensions in the region.
"Today, in the 21st century, all parties must completely abandon the Cold
War mentality and establish a negotiated European security mechanism in a
balanced, effective and sustainable manner," he told Blinken, according to
the ministry's official website.
"Russia's legitimate security issues must be taken seriously and addressed,"
Wang added.
According to him, regional security cannot be ensured by strengthening and
expanding the military bloc. "The security of one country cannot be achieved
at the expense of another," he said. While Blinken, in turn, reportedly
called on Russia to soften its threatening stance.
"Secretary Blinken underlined the global security and economic risks posed
by further Russian aggression against Ukraine and conveyed that
de-escalation and diplomacy are the responsible way forward," the US State
Department said in a statement posted online following the phone call.
Blinken also recently called on Russia and Ukraine to return to the Minsk
Treaty dialogue, calling it "the most promising avenue for diplomacy" during
a December press conference. This statement came shortly after Washington
and NATO responded to Moscow's proposal.
Speaking on Wednesday, the head of the US-led military bloc, Jens
Stoltenberg, said NATO would not compromise on potential expansion into
Ukraine, Georgia and other former Soviet republics, as this went against its
"core principles."
Last month, Russia submitted two draft documents, one addressed to
Washington and the other to NATO, which it says are aimed at reducing the
risk of conflict on the European continent.
Moscow requested that the bloc refrain from any military activity on the
territory of the former Warsaw Pact countries that joined after 1997,
following the fall of the Soviet Union.
