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https://scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3199805/g20-china-endorses-russias-no-nuclear-pledge-ukraine
China/ Diplomacy

G20: China endorses Russia’s no nuclear pledge on Ukraine

  • Chinese and Russian foreign ministers meet on sidelines of Bali summit, while many world leaders condemn Russia’s war on Ukraine
  • A day after the Beijing-Moscow talks, an apparent Russian rocket blast in Poland prompts further condemnation
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi ahead of their talks on the sidelines of the G20 summit on Tuesday. Photo: AP

Beijing has welcomed Moscow’s resumption of grain exports and opposition to the use of nuclear weapons in Ukraine, giving Russia support amid condemnation from the West.

In a meeting with Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov on Tuesday, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said China noted that Russia had reiterated its position that a nuclear war was “impossible and inadmissible”.

“It is a rational and responsible position from Russia,” Wang said in the meeting on the G20 sidelines in Bali, according to the Chinese foreign ministry.

“We are glad that Russia has signalled dialogue and agreed to resume the implementation of the agreement on grain exports across the Black Sea.”

China’s support comes as Moscow is under immense pressure, with its ongoing war in Ukraine widely condemned by other leaders of the world’s largest economies at the Group of 20 summit in Indonesia. Russian President Vladimir Putin is not attending.

China has so far refused to condemn the Russian invasion of Ukraine, which began weeks after Beijing and Moscow declared a “no limits” friendship, leading to concerns that the Chinese government is siding with Russia.

During their talks, Wang told Lavrov China was willing to work with Russia to defend the international system with the United Nations as its core, and continue to strengthen communication.

Lavrov said both nations would be able to “seize new opportunities” to unlock the potential of bilateral ties, Russia’s Sputnik news agency reported.

World leaders at the summit were already working towards a declaration strongly denouncing the Russian invasion, with a flurry of high-level discussions touching on the global economy, the war in Ukraine and growing tensions over tech supply chains.

Suspected Russian missile kills 2 in Poland near Nato member country’s Ukraine border

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Suspected Russian missile kills 2 in Poland near Nato member country’s Ukraine border

News of a blast in Poland, said to be caused by a Russian-made rocket, prompted US President Joe Biden to convene a meeting on Wednesday morning of the G7 and Nato leaders at the summit.

A joint statement after the meeting condemned “the barbaric missile attacks that Russia perpetrated on Ukrainian cities and civilian infrastructure on Tuesday”.

“We offer our full support for and assistance with Poland’s ongoing investigation,” said the statement, from Canada, the European Commission, European Council, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the Netherlands, Spain, the US and Britain.

“We reaffirm our steadfast support for Ukraine and the Ukrainian people in the face of ongoing Russian aggression, as well as our continued readiness to hold Russia accountable for its brazen attacks on Ukrainian communities, even as the G20 meets to deal with the wider impacts of the war.”

A day earlier, European leaders in their meetings with Chinese President Xi Jinping at the summit secured his opposition to the use of nuclear weapons.

Leaders of France and the Netherlands drew the commitment from Xi during a flurry of talks on the sidelines, according to each of their post-meeting communications. Their efforts follow similar appeals from Biden on Monday and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz in Beijing earlier this month.

Analysts said China’s opposition to the use of nuclear weapons was unlikely to cause division between China and Russia, with the two nations understanding each other’s nuclear doctrines.

Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte said on Twitter that Xi had “expressed his opposition to threats to use nuclear weapons – an important message to Russia”.

Earlier, a French statement on President Emmanuel Macron’s meeting with Xi said they had “reaffirmed their firm position on the prevention of the use of nuclear weapons”.