China distances itself from recognizing Russia as aggressor in UN resolution

The Chinese Permanent Mission to the UN issued a statement on the vote in response to a request from the South China Morning Post newspaper.

The mission claimed to have voted “for the entire text, not a paragraph,” adding that “China’s position on the Ukrainian issue has not changed, and its position during the vote has nothing to do with the phone conversation between the two heads of state.”

Beijing on April 26 voted for the UN General Assembly resolution on cooperation between the UN and the Council of Europe, which referred to Russia as an aggressor in the war against Ukraine. China had previously abstained from voting on similar resolutions.

Kazakhstan, Armenia, India, and Brazil, which have been lukewarm in their support for Ukraine, were also among the 122 countries that voted “for.”

On the same day, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy spoke with Chinese President Xi Jinping for the first time since the full-scale invasion by Russia. Beijing promised to send a special representative of the Chinese government to Ukraine and other countries in Eurasia for “communication regarding the political settlement” of the war.

Beijing, published a document outlining its position on the “settlement” of Russia’s war of aggression on Ukraine on Feb. 24, the anniversary of the start of Russia’s full-scale war and invasion.

The position paper consisted of 12 points. Among other things, Beijing called for a ceasefire and negotiations, but did not condemn Russia’s invasion or call for the withdrawal of Russian troops.