Exclusive | Russia appreciates China’s ‘balanced position’, says envoy as Beijing walks fine line on Ukraine war
- Russian consul general to Hong Kong Igor Sagitov says Beijing understands Moscow’s actions after similar ‘threats’ to security interests
- Beijing has not made clear publicly whether it recognises referendums in eastern Ukraine that Moscow says supported joining Russia
Beijing took that position because it fully understood Moscow’s actions, having been subjected to similar threats to its security interests, Russian consul general to Hong Kong Igor Sagitov told the South China Morning Post in a written response to questions.
03:08
Russia illegally annexes 4 regions of Ukraine
Ukrainian forces have been fighting against pro-Russian separatist militants in Donbas, eastern Ukraine since 2014, when pro-Russian protesters there demonstrated against the new government in Kyiv following the impeachment of then-Ukrainian president Viktor Yanukovych.
Out of fear the move could sever economic ties with Russia, the Yanukovych cabinet suspended plans to sign an agreement with the European Union – decades in the making – that could have brought Ukraine closer to membership of the bloc.
Asked whether China had offered Russia sufficient support in the war, Sagitov did not respond directly but said: “We know that Beijing took this position because it fully understood the logic of our actions from the very beginning, fully understood that the origin of this situation is a flagrant violation of Russia’s security interests.”
China, like Russia, was also under similar “threats”, he said.