© Provided by Agencia EFE
Washington, Jan 26 (EFE) .- The US Secretary of State, Anthony Blinken, telephoned his Chinese counterpart, Wang Yi, on Wednesday to warn him of the global “risks” that a Russian invasion of Ukraine would entail and to review bilateral relations.
In a brief statement late on Wednesday in Washington, when it was already Thursday in Beijing, the State Department reported the telephone conversation, which occurred in a context of strong tensions between Russia and the United States due to the concentration of Russian troops in the border with Ukraine.
“Secretary of State Blinken underscored the global economic and security risks that further Russian aggression once morest Ukraine would pose, and said that de-escalation and diplomacy are the responsible way forward,” the note said.
The call came a week before Chinese President Xi Jinping is to hold a summit in Beijing with Russian President Vladimir Putin on February 4, taking advantage of Putin’s attendance at the opening ceremony of the Winter Olympics. .
According to the Kremlin, China has expressed support for proposals for security guarantees to prevent NATO enlargement that Russia handed over to the United States in December.
This Wednesday, the United States and NATO formally responded in writing to these security guarantees, extending the hand of diplomacy but warning that there will be “serious consequences” for Moscow if it opts for a new invasion of Ukraine.
The security guarantees demanded by Russia include a halt to further expansion of the Alliance, in particular to Ukraine and Georgia, the cessation of all military cooperation with the former Soviet republics and the withdrawal of NATO troops and weapons from positions they occupied before 1997.
The United States and its allies have refused to close the door on Ukraine’s accession to NATO, calling for restraint, fearing that Moscow will launch an attack on Ukraine, on whose borders it maintains more than 100,000 troops.
In their call, Blinken and his Chinese counterpart also followed up on the November virtual summit between Xi and US President Joe Biden, discussing how to “manage strategic risks, health security and climate change,” according to the Department. of State.
(c) EFE Agency