China benefits from prolonging the war in Ukraine, Czech president says
Petr Pavel (Photo:REUTERS/Johanna Geron)
China cannot be relied upon as a mediator between
Russia and Ukraine due to Beijing's economic self-interest in prolonging the
conflict, Czech President Petr
Pavel said in an interview with Politico on April 25.
He emphasized that China gains cheap oil, gas, and other resources from Russian dictator Vladimir Putin in exchange for promises of "partnership."
"It is also good for China that the West is probably becoming a little bit weaker by supporting Ukraine," Pavel said.
“I believe that it is in China’s interest to prolong the status quo because it can push Russia to a number of concessions.”
He believes that the government of China “learns” every day from the war, drawing lessons from the reaction of Western countries.
“China is taking lessons out of the conflict every day; they closely follow what Russia is doing, how the West is reacting,” Pavel said.
“I don’t think China has a real interest to resolve the war in a short time.”
In a recent interview with French TV channel LCI, China's ambassador to France Lu Shaye claimed that former Soviet republics "do not have a current status in international law," and when asked about his position on the annexation of Crimea he replied, "It depends on how you look at the issue," adding that the peninsula "was initially Russian."
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