Beijing Calls US Main Initiator of Ukrainian Crisis, Says It Should Stop Supply of Arms

MOSCOW (Sputnik) - The United States is the biggest initiator of the Ukrainian crisis, and if Washington really cares about the Ukrainian people, it should stop the supply of arms, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning said on Monday.

"The United States is the main initiator and main driving force of the Ukrainian crisis, it continuously supplies heavy and offensive weapons to Ukraine, prolonging the conflict and making it more intense," Mao told reporters, adding that Washington "should stop sending weapons there and profit from the war."

The spokeswoman also stated that Beijing would not silently accept baseless accusations against China and the infringement of the Chinese companies' rights by the US.

"Instead of thinking about their actions [in Ukraine], the US side has groundless suspicions and accusations against China. We will not accept such baseless blackmail. We will not sit idly by and watch the US unreasonably infringe upon the legitimate rights and the interests of Chinese companies," Mao said, while commenting on reports that Chinese state-owned companies were providing military and financial assistance to Russia in the Ukrainian conflict.

In December 2022, US State Department spokesperson said that the US was concerned about China’s alignment with Russia amid its military operation in Ukraine and closely monitoring Beijing’s activity to see if the country provided any military or sanctions evasion assistance to Moscow.