Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Monday criticized Chinese President Xi Jinping’s decision to visit Moscow just days after the International Criminal Court issued an arrest warrant for Russian President Vladimir Putin.
The court said on Friday that Putin is “allegedly responsible for the war crime of illegal deportation of the population (children) and illegal transfer of the population (children) from the occupied areas of Ukraine to the Russian Federation.”
But Blinken told reporters that Xi’s visit indicates that “China does not feel responsible for the Kremlin being held accountable for its atrocities in Ukraine, and instead of condemning it, it would prefer to provide diplomatic cover for Russia to continue to commit those crimes.”
Notably, neither China, nor Russia, nor Ukraine are under the jurisdiction of the ICC.
Biden called the arrest warrant “justified,” adding that “it’s a very strong point,” while China questioned it.
The Court should “respect the jurisdictional immunity of the head of state under international law, exercise its mandate prudently in accordance with the law, interpret and apply international law in good faith and not engage in politicization or use double standards,” the Court said. Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs. spokesman Wang Wenbin said.
Xi will spend three days in Russia this week, his first trip abroad since being re-elected.
He met with Putin on Monday for talks that lasted more than four hours, during which the Russian president was supposed to brief him on the war in Ukraine. The two will have new talks on Tuesday on a number of issues.
Xi is eyeing Russia as a source of energy to support his economic recovery after the lifting of COVID-19 restrictions, while Moscow sees the visit as a way to raise Putin’s profile.
Blinken said the United States expects China to repeat the call for a ceasefire between Russia and Ukraine, which is part of the 12-point peace proposal unveiled last month. While the United States supports several aspects of the plan, Blinken said, including nuclear safety, a proposal must guarantee Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.
“Any plan that does not prioritize this critical principle is at best a stalling tactic or simply seeks to facilitate an unjust outcome,” he said. “It’s not constructive diplomacy.”
He added that a ceasefire without the removal of Russian troops from Ukraine would ultimately support the Kremlin’s goals.
“It would recognize Russia’s attempts to forcibly occupy the territory of a neighboring ruler,” Blinken said. “It would allow Russia to further strengthen its positions in Ukraine. And a ceasefire now, without a lasting solution, would allow President Putin to rest and repair his troops and then resume the war at a more advantageous time for Russia.”
The United States warned that Russia could launch an offensive by spring and rushed to ensure that the Ukrainians were ready to respond.
Meanwhile, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida traveled to Kiev on Tuesday to meet Volodymyr Zelenskyy to reaffirm his support for the country during Xi’s visit to Moscow.
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