In a joint statement, European External Action Service Secretary-General Stefano Sannino and United States Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman called on China not to circumvent or undermine sanctions against Russia over the war in Ukraine.
The two also warned China not to support the Russian invasion, adding that it would have serious consequences for EU-US relations with Beijing.
“China has benefited greatly from the rules-based world order in recent decades, but is now trying to undermine the same system in every way possible by supporting the Kremlin as it unleashes its illegal war against Ukraine,” Wendy Sherman said.
She cited the joint statement of Presidents Putin and Xi Jinping on unrestricted and unrestricted cooperation as an example.
Sherman recalled that China had voted against a UN Security Council resolution calling for Russia’s expulsion from the Human Rights Council.
For his part, Stefano Sannino said discussions are under way on how to react when the UN Security Council is blocked and how to use the General Assembly more actively.
Sherman said that if Russia resorted to the use of nuclear weapons, it would change the world significantly, and the consequences for Putin would also be “significant”.
Australia with new sanctions against Russia
Australia has imposed sanctions and travel bans on the daughters of Russian President Vladimir Putin and Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, Reuters reports. This was stated today by the Australian government.
Australia is following similar steps taken by other Western countries, including the United States and Britain, and has increased the total number of people and legal entities in Russia subject to Australian sanctions to nearly 750.
The new round of sanctions also targets 144 Russian senators who backed Putin by approving the “illegitimate” recognition of the independent breakaway regions of Donetsk and Luhansk in eastern Ukraine on February 22, the Australian Foreign Ministry said in a statement.
Foreign Minister Marisa Payne added that Australia would continue to increase spending on Russia, targeting those responsible for “unjustified and unprovoked aggression in Ukraine”.
Russia calls its invasion a “special military operation” to demilitarize and “denationalize” Ukraine.
Last week, Australia imposed targeted financial sanctions on 14 Russian state-owned companies, including defense-related companies such as truck maker Kamaz and shipping companies Sevmash and United Shipbuilding Corp.
