Blinken says China should convince Russia to respect Ukraine’s sovereignty

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken believes China should now use its influence on the Kremlin and persuade Russia to restore Ukraine's sovereignty and territorial integrity.

The head of U.S. diplomacy said this in an interview with Euronews, Ukrinform reports.

"First, the peace ideas that China’s put on the table - some of them are positive indeed – they reflect things that China’s said for a long time – and many of us have said for a long time," U.S. secretary of state noted.

In this regard, he pointed out that the very first element of China's peace proposals implies sovereignty, and that is where the focus should be.

"China’s focus should be on convincing Russia to actually respect Ukraine’s sovereignty and to give back the territory that it seized by force, in violation of the United Nations Charter, in violation of Ukraine’s sovereignty," the head of the U.S. State Department noted.

He also expressed his belief that Beijing is trying to approach the settlement in Ukraine in two ways. On the one hand, China seeks to do everything its own way, to support Russia in various ways, including at the political level and with its rhetoric. On the other hand, China wants the world to perceive this as an effort to promote peace. In addition, Blinken noted that the United States remains concerned about China potentially starting to supply arms to Russia.

As Ukrinform wrote earlier, referring to media reports, during a Beijing meeting between France’s President Emmanuel Macron and China’s leader, Xi Jinping, the latter encouraged the head of the French state to confront the United States.