West fails to understand China’s Ukraine policy: Russia

March 30, 2014, 5:31 am

Moscow has slammed attempts to drive a wedge between Russia and its allies on the Ukrainian crisis after the US admitted it was trying to diplomatically isolate President Vladimir Putin.

“Our contacts with Chinese partners prove that they not only recognize Russia’s legitimate interests in this situation, but also share with us a similar understanding of the roots of the Ukrainian crisis,” Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said in an interview with Rossiya TV on Saturday.

Lavrov said if the reports of attempts by US officials to pressure China into reconsidering its economic agreements with Russia are true, the degree of their [Americans] naivety and ignorance could be described only as “going through the roof.”

“I would say that failure to understand the essence of the Chinese policy, the essence of the Chinese nature is inexcusable for professionals who attempt to arrange this kind of talks,” the minister said.

A US official had said earlier that the administration is trying to target Russia’s BRICS allies like India and China to wean support away from Moscow’s stand in Crimea.

“Yesterday, only 10 other countries in the (UN) general assembly — people like Syria and Sudan — voted with Russia. So we are actively working on the diplomatic side to isolate Russia and that means with countries like China and India and others,” said US State Department deputy spokesperson Marie Harf on Saturday in Washington.

At Hague this week, BRICS have slammed reports to isolate Russian President Vladimir Putin or to place any restrictions on his participation at the G-20 summit in Australia later this year.

“The Ministers noted with concern, the recent media statement on the forthcoming G20 Summit to be held in Brisbane in November 2014. The custodianship of the G20 belongs to all Member States equally and no one Member State can unilaterally determine its nature and character,” said a joint BRICS statement on Monday. Australian Foreign Minister Julie Bishop had said earlier that Putin could be barred from attending the G20 Summit in November.

Meanwhile, China, which has own restive regions such as Tibet, has taken a cautious response to the issue of Crimea while New Delhi has gone a step further to state that Moscow has “legitimate interests” in the region.

Chinese President Xi Jinping said during his visit to Berlin on Friday that his country “does not have any private interests” in the Ukrainian political crisis.

“All parties involved should work for a political and diplomatic solution to the conflict,” he said.

Beijing, a regular ally of Russia, abstained from a UN Security Council vote earlier this month on a draft resolution condemning the referendum in Crimea. It also abstained from a vote on a non-binding UN General Assembly resolution to declare the referendum invalid on Thursday.

The West describes the popular vote in Crimea, in which nearly 97 percent voted in favor of rejoining Russia, as illegitimate, while Moscow says it is in line with the UN Charter and international laws.

TBP and Agencies