China on Thursday (January 27th) supported Moscow's "
reasonable concerns
" vis-à-vis Ukraine, where the United States says it fears a possible Russian attack by mid-February.
Read alsoUkraine: NATO says it is preparing "for the worst"
Close to Russia, the Asian giant had so far refrained from ostensibly taking sides in the crisis between Moscow and the West, who accuse President Vladimir Putin of having massed 100,000 soldiers at the gates of Ukraine.
But eight days before the opening of the Beijing Winter Olympics, which are traditionally accompanied by a "
truce
" in world conflicts, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi spoke by telephone with his American counterpart Antony Blinken about Ukraine.
"
Russia's reasonable security concerns must be taken seriously and addressed
," Wang Yi told him, according to a statement released by his ministry.
A position that comes the day after the formal rejection by the United States and NATO of Moscow's main request: to commit to refusing Ukraine's accession to the Atlantic Alliance.
Read alsoCrisis in Ukraine: the efforts of Paris and Berlin
Without naming NATO, the Chinese minister argued that “
regional security cannot be guaranteed by the strengthening or expansion of military blocs
”. "
We call on all parties for calm, to refrain from heightening tensions and escalating the crisis,
" said Wang Yi, echoing Moscow's position which accuses the West
of "hysteria
" over of Ukraine and denies any plans to invade that country. According to the State Department, Antony Blinken for his part underlined to his Chinese partner “
the global security and economic risks posed by a new Russian aggression against Ukraine
”.
Washington remains convinced of the risk of a Russian attack against Kiev.
"
Everything indicates
" that Vladimir Putin "
will use military force at some point, perhaps between now and mid-February
," said US Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman on Wednesday.
She pointed out that the opening of the Beijing Olympics on February 4 could influence "
its schedule
", to avoid offending Chinese President Xi Jinping during this major event for China.
On Monday, Beijing dismissed out of hand information from the American press according to which Xi Jinping had asked Vladimir Putin not to invade Ukraine during the Olympics.
During his meeting with Antony Blinken, the Chinese minister also called on Washington to stop “
disturbing
” the Winter Games.
The United States, like other countries, has announced a “
diplomatic boycott
” to denounce human rights violations in China.
They will send their athletes but not senior officials to represent their country.
