China slams US, NATO for provoking Russia to invade Ukraine

03/03/2022 / By Kevin Hughes

The People’s Republic of China has slammed the United States and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) for provoking Russia and President Vladimir Putin into invading Ukraine.

In a Twitter thread, China’s Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying quoted various U.S. news reports, which she said backed her argument that President Joe Biden could have prevented the invasion by simply assuring that Ukraine would never be accepted by NATO.

NATO notably promised Ukraine in 2008 that it would ultimately become a member of the coalition after the former Soviet republic applied for membership in the early 2000s. However, most Western leaders worry that admitting Ukraine could provoke Russia in an even more hostile stance.

In support of this idea, Hua shared a pair of clips from Fox News, including a slip of the tongue from a Department of State spokesman, who said that “this is not the outcome we sought to prevent.”

Biden, NATO did not prevent Russia-Ukraine war from happening

In another clip shared by Hua, Hawaii Rep. Tulsi Gabbard told Tucker Carlson that the Biden administration actually wanted Russia to invade Ukraine so they could impose “draconian” sanctions and boost defense spending.

Hua proceeded to explain that should Ukraine become a member of NATO, that would put the U.S. and NATO troops “directly on the doorstep of Russia.” The spokeswoman asked why Biden and NATO didn’t even try to ease the tension between Russia and Ukraine.

In the long run, the military industrial complex is the one that benefits most, which is something that is already becoming apparent as the investment banks endorse defense stocks to their clients.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen during an interview with Euronews on Feb. 26, mentioned that she would like to see Ukraine join the European Union. However, many observers have argued that Ukraine doesn’t meet the demands for membership and that this would further provoke Russia.

Meanwhile, Hua avoided giving a yes or no answer to reporters asking whether she would call Russia’s attacks on Ukraine an invasion. Instead, Hua said: “The U.S. has been fueling the flame, fanning up the flame, how do they want to put out the fire?”

China calls for a dialogue between Russia, Ukraine

Hua added that Russia is an “independent major country” that could take its own actions.

“China is closely following the development of the situation. What you are seeing today is not what we have wished to see. We hope all parties can go back to dialogue and negotiation,” Hua said.

The ministry also said on February 24 that Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi had a call with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov. Wang declared that China always respects each country’s sovereignty and that the Ukraine issue is “complex.”

“China is clearly sympathetic to Russian perspectives. China thinks that it’s the NATO expansion and other threats from the U.S. and NATO that ultimately prompted Russia to defend its legitimate interests. In other words, I think China feels Russia feels it is forced to do what it is doing,” said Tong Zhao, a senior fellow in the Nuclear Policy Program at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace based in Beijing.

Zhao added that Russia is now receiving wide international condemnation and criticism, which China wants to avoid being seen as part of. He also pointed out that China has been very careful when it comes to public statements.

“It’s hard for China to openly support this Russian behavior given this implications for China’s own security and China’s relationship with Taiwan,” Zhao said. (Related: Trump: China will DEFINITELY attack Taiwan following Russia-Ukraine example.)

Beijing has many times asserted that it intends to reunify with Taiwan, a democratic island nation that is off the coast of mainland China.