Ajit Karn
Washington: A spokesman for the White House stated on Friday that the United States opposes Chinese calls for a ceasefire in Ukraine, as this would only consolidate “Russian conquest” and enable the Kremlin to prepare for a new offensive.
“We do not support calls for a ceasefire at this time,” National Security Council spokesman John Kirby told reporters ahead of Chinese leader Xi Jinping’s visit to Moscow next week.
“We do not support calls for a ceasefire that would be made by the PRC in a meeting in Moscow that would only benefit Russia,” he said, using the official acronym for China’s government: the People’s Republic of China.
The United States, which is leading a Western coalition to arm Ukraine and support its defence against Russia’s more-than-a-year-long invasion, is concerned that making a ceasefire the top priority would relieve pressure on Russian forces and allow the Kremlin to consolidate its control over large portions of territory.
Mr. Kirby stated that a cease-fire at this time would essentially ratify Russia’s conquest.
“Russia would then be free to use a ceasefire to further entrench its positions in Ukraine, to rebuild, refit, and resupply its forces so that it could resume attacks on Ukraine at any time,”
We do not consider this to be a step towards a just and lasting peace.
Kirby reaffirmed that President Joe Biden intends to speak with Xi via telephone, but stated that no arrangements have been made.
“There is no scheduled contact. “Although the president has made it clear that he desires and looks forward to another opportunity to speak with President Xi, we are not currently engaged in the logistics of arranging that,” he said.
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According to my knowledge, there has been no outreach to the Chinese regarding logistics.
US officials are closely observing whether China will extend its diplomatic support for Russia during the conflict to include military aid, such as ammunition and weapons.
Mr. Kirby stated that Beijing has not ruled out the possibility of supplying weapons, but that there have been no indications or confirmations that they have made a decision to move in that direction or have actually done so.
