China and India call for an end to the Ukraine war at the UN General Assembly

China and India call for an end to the Ukraine war at the UN General Assembly
Chinese State Counsellor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi addresses the 77th Session of the United Nations General Assembly at U.N. Headquarters in New York City, U.S., September 24, 2022. REUTERS/Eduardo Munoz

With Putin making nuclear threats, anti-war protests in Russia leading to over a thousand arrests and Putin backing referendums in Ukrainian regions to join Russia, the Russia-Ukraine conflict is close to boiling over. But China has largely stayed out of it. And, really, no world power has supported Russia in the war – only countries like North Korea and Iran have supplied it with weapons. Although China has economic ties to Russia and relies on Russian oil for energy, it has not directly supported its moves in Ukraine or sold it any weapons.

But, at the UN General Assembly this week, China and India (both Russian allies) called for an end to the war. Russia’s foreign minister addressed the general assembly, condemning the West for its campaign against the country. But, really, no world power has supported Russia in the war – only countries like North Korea and Iran have supplied it with weapons. China’s foreign minister, Wang Yi, seemed not to take sides and urged negotiations for peace. He did end up meeting with Ukraine’s foreign minister, Dmytro Kuleba, for their first talks since the war began.

Key comments:

“China supports all efforts conducive to the peaceful resolution of the Ukraine crisis. The pressing priority is to facilitate talks for peace,” Wang said on Saturday. “We call on all parties concerned to keep the crisis from spilling over and protect the legitimate rights and the interests of developing countries."

“I met with State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi to discuss relations between Ukraine and China. My counterpart reaffirmed China’s respect for Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity, as well as its rejection of the use of force as a means of resolving differences,” Kuleba tweeted, with a photo of himself and Wang shaking hands.

“As the Ukraine conflict continues to rage, we are often asked whose side we are on. Our answer, each time, is straight and honest – India is on the side of peace and will remain firmly there. We are on the side that calls for dialogue and diplomacy as the only way out,” said India’s foreign minister, Subrahmanyam Jaishankar.