Chinese official calls sanctions on Russia increasingly ‘outrageous’

A senior Chinese government official said on Saturday that sanctions imposed by Western nations on Russia over Ukraine were “increasingly outrageous”, according to Bloomberg.

Undersecretary of State Le Husseng also acknowledged Moscow’s view of NATO, saying the alliance should not extend further eastward, pushing a nuclear power like Russia “into a corner.”

China has not yet condemned Russia’s actions in Ukraine or called it an invasion, although it has expressed deep concern about the war. Beijing has also opposed Russia imposing economic sanctions on Ukraine, which it says are unilateral and have not been approved by the UN Security Council.

“Sanctions against Russia are becoming increasingly outrageous,” Le told a security forum in Beijing, adding that Russian citizens were being deprived of property abroad “for no reason.”

“History has repeatedly shown that sanctions can not solve problems. Sanctions will only harm ordinary people, affect the economic and financial system … and worsen the global economy.”

Russia calls its actions in Ukraine a “special operation” that says it was not designed to seize territory but to destroy its neighbor’s military capabilities and arrest those it considers dangerous nationalists.

In a call Friday between Joe Biden and Xi Jinping, the US president warned his Chinese counterpart of “consequences” if Beijing provided material support for Russia’s attack, the White House said. Read the whole story

Moscow has demanded legally binding guarantees from NATO that it will stop its expansion and return to its 1997 border.

“This pursuit of absolute security (by NATO) leads precisely to absolute insecurity,” Le said. “The consequences of forcing a large power, especially a nuclear power, into a corner are even more inconceivable.”

President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said this week that Ukraine could accept international security guarantees that did not meet its long-term goal of joining NATO.