Russia’s legitimate security concerns against the backdrop of the expansion of the North Atlantic Alliance must be taken into account. This was stated on Friday, February 25, by China’s Permanent Representative to the UN Zhang Jun, speaking at a meeting of the Security Council of the world organization. The meeting was broadcast on the Reuters YouTube channel.
According to the diplomat, China is deeply concerned about the latest developments in Ukraine and Donbass, which have now come to a point “which we did not want to see.”
“China forms its position based on the essence of what is happening. We believe that the sovereignty and integrity of all states must be respected. The purposes and principles of the UN must be respected,” said the Chinese envoy
He stressed that “the security of one country cannot be achieved by violating the security of other countries”, and in turn, regional security cannot be strengthened by strengthening NATO.
“Against the backdrop of five successive rounds of NATO expansion, Russia’s legitimate security concerns must be taken into account,” he said.
Jun also called for maximum restraint and a return to the path of diplomatic settlement.
“The final settlement in Ukraine requires abandoning the Cold War mentality, taking into account the legitimate concerns of all countries and conducting negotiations in order to build an equal, safe space and security mechanisms in Europe,” he concluded.
In turn, the representative of the Russian Federation to the UN, Vasily Nebenzya, said that the Western states made the Ukrainian side a pawn of a geopolitical game, ignoring the interests of the population.
Earlier that day, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said that a special operation to rescue civilians in the Donbass cannot be understood as Russia’s desire to occupy the territory of Ukraine. According to her, this is the disabling of the command and control system of the armed forces for the demilitarization of Ukraine, which is under the leadership of “few adequate people and which is all stuffed with incomprehensible, but offensive weapons.”
Zakharova also outlined the main goal of the ongoing special operation to save the lives of civilians on the territory of Donbass – to bring the puppet regime to justice for the crimes against residents committed during these years.
On February 24, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced a special operation to protect the civilian population of Donbass. After that, the Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelensky accused Russia of hitting the country’s military infrastructure and introduced martial law throughout Ukraine. He also said that Kyiv is breaking off diplomatic relations with Moscow and withdrawing its diplomats from the embassy.
The Russian Defense Ministry stressed that the army did not carry out air missile or artillery strikes on the cities of Ukraine. The civilian population of the country is not in danger. High-precision weapons destroy military infrastructure.
On February 21, Putin signed decrees recognizing the independence of the LNR and the DNR. Also, the Russian leader and the heads of both republics Leonid Pasechnik and Denis Pushilin signed agreements on friendship, cooperation and mutual assistance. The documents were ratified the next day by both the republics themselves and the Russian State Duma.
The situation in Donbass escalated on February 17. In the Donetsk and Lugansk People’s Republics, heavy shelling by Ukrainian security forces was reported, including from heavy weapons. The republics announced a general mobilization and evacuation of civilians to the territory of Russia.
Since 2014, the Ukrainian authorities have been conducting a military operation against the inhabitants of Donbass, who refused to recognize the results of the coup d’état and the new government in Ukraine. At the same time, Kyiv blames Moscow for the current situation.
Source: IZ
Jane Stock is a technology author, who has written for 24 Hours World. She writes about the latest in technology news and trends, and is always on the lookout for new and innovative ways to improve his audience’s experience.
