BEIJING (Reuters) – China’s foreign ministry dismissed as “groundless” on Friday an accusation by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy that the country had been supplying weapons to Russia.
Despite maintaining close economic ties with Russia during Moscow’s three-year war in Ukraine, China has sought to project an image of neutrality and denies any involvement in the war.
Friday’s disclaimer followed Zelenskiy’s remarks at a press conference the previous day that China was supplying weapons and gunpowder to Russia, while also accusing it of producing weapons on Russian territory.
China has never made lethal weapons available to any party to the Ukraine crisis, ministry spokesperson Lin Jian told a regular news conference.
“China’s position on the Ukrainian issue has always been clear,” Lin said. “It has been actively committed to promoting a ceasefire and ending the conflict, as well as encouraging peace talks.”
China opposes groundless accusations and political manipulation, he said, adding that Ukraine had said publicly that most of the components in weapons imported by Russia came from the United States and other Western nations.
(Reporting by Liz Lee; writing by Ryan Woo and Ethan Wang; Editing by Christian Schmollinger and Clarence Fernandez)
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