BEIJING, China – China announced Friday that it “firmly opposes” any pressure exerted on it regarding Ukraine.
This came after US President Donald Trump urged European leaders to put economic pressure on Beijing over the war in that country.
“China is not the origin of this crisis, nor is it a party to it,” Foreign Ministry spokesman Guo Jiakun told reporters.
He added, “We firmly oppose this trend of constantly dragging China into this issue, and we firmly oppose any alleged economic pressure on China”.
On Thursday, Donald Trump asked European leaders to “put pressure on China economically because of its support for the Russian war effort”.
A US official said that Trump, during talks with leaders of Ukraine’s allies who met in Paris, also said that “Europe must stop buying Russian oil.”
Trump contacts the “Alliance of the Willing”
The Elysee Palace announced that video communication between US President Donald Trump and leaders of a coalition of countries supporting Ukraine began shortly after 12:00 GMT on Thursday.
This came after the meeting of this alliance in Paris.
Coalition leaders held talks on Thursday, some in person in Paris and others via video technology.
This is to discuss Kiev’s security guarantees in any possible peace agreement with Moscow.
On the sidelines of the meeting, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky met in the French capital with US President Steve Witkov’s special envoy.
