Beijing rejects Washington arms claims

Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin on Monday rejected United States Secretary of State Antony Blinken's claim that China is considering providing arms and ammunition to Russia, saying that Washington is "in no position" to make demands.

"It is the US who has been continuously providing weapons to the war. We do not accept Washington's finger-pointing or even coercion targeting China-Russia relations," Wang said at a regular news briefing in Beijing.

Noting that China is committed to promoting peace talks on the Ukraine issue, Wang said the international community knows clearly who is working for peace and who is fanning the flames and instigating confrontation.

"We urge the US side to seriously reflect on what it has done, take more concrete measures to de-escalate the situation and promote peace talks, and stop deflecting blame to others or spreading disinformation," he said.

Wang reiterated that China will continue to firmly stand on the side of dialogue and peace and play a constructive part in easing the situation.

At the news briefing, the spokesman also pointed to the importance of "a thorough investigation "into the Nord Stream explosion.

Pulitzer Prize-winning investigative journalist Seymour Hersh claimed recently that the US sabotaged the Nord Stream 2 pipelines in September, and now more evidence appears to support the allegation.

"The explosion had a major negative impact on the global energy market and the global ecological environment. It also instilled fears about how to get through the winter in Europe," Wang said, noting that it is highly necessary to conduct an objective, impartial and professional investigation into the incident.

However, it is confusing that the US government and media have remained unusually silent and related European countries seem to be hesitating, he said, and these extraordinary moves make the public tend to believe that the truth about the Nord Stream blast is unusually complicated.

"The international community has every right to demand a thorough investigation," Wang said.

mojingxi@chinadaily.com.cn