China repeats call to respect national sovereignty before referendums in Russian-occupied parts of Ukraine

Beijing’s ambassador to the UN Zhang Jun urges international community to ‘open the door to a political settlement’ to the war

Pro-Moscow forces reported a heavy vote in favour of joining Russia in four regions, which Ukraine and its supporters have dismissed as a sham

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Workers hang Russian flags at an apartment building in Luhansk. Photo: AP

Published: 8:00pm, 28 Sep 2022Updated: 2:29pm, 2 Oct 2022

Corrected [2:23pm, 2 Oct, 2022]

[2:23pm, 2 Oct, 2022]
An earlier version of this report incorrectly said China issued its call after the referendums in Russian-occupied territory.

China has said countries’ sovereignty and territorial integrity should be respected and urged the international community to work towards a political settlement to the war in Ukraine ahead of referendums in Russian-occupied territory.

At a United Nations Security Council briefing on Tuesday, Chinese ambassador Zhang Jun called for de-escalation and said: “The task at hand is to push the parties to open the door to a political settlement as soon as possible, to include the respective legitimate concerns in the negotiations, and to put all viable options on the table.

“The recent developments remind us once again that peace must be pursued and upheld by all.”

Votes took place over five days across parts of the eastern Donetsk and Luhansk provinces, and the southern provinces of Zaporizhzhia and Kherson.

According to Russia-appointed officials, the votes in favour of joining Russia ranged from 87 to 99.2 per cent – dismissed by Ukraine and Western governments as an illegitimate, coercive exercise to create a legal pretext for Russia to annex the four regions.

Crimea was similarly annexed in 2014 following a vote that took place under a heavy Russian military presence, but China has never made clear whether it recognised the peninsula as Russian territory.

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