Sanctions, irresponsible remarks hurt Ukraine's peace prospects

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky says Ukrainian soldiers have noticed mercenaries from China, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Pakistan and some African countries joining the conflict on Russia's side in the Kharkiv region.

When asked about this at a news conference on Wednesday, Guo Jiakun, a spokesperson for the Chinese Foreign Ministry, said "China has issued multiple security alerts to ask Chinese nationals to stay away from areas of armed conflict, avoid any form of involvement in armed conflict, and in particular avoid participation in any party's military operations."

He also reiterated that China's position on the Ukraine crisis is consistent and clear. The country remains committed to promoting talks for peace and the end to the fighting.

When another ministry spokesperson, Lin Jian, was asked a similar question four months ago, he gave a similar answer.

Clearly, the Chinese side has exercised considerable restraint despite Kyiv's remarks not reflecting the responsible role China has been playing throughout the Ukraine crisis. China is neither the instigator of nor a party to the Ukrainian crisis, but a staunch supporter and active backer of a peaceful resolution to the crisis.

It has initiated the "Friends of Peace" group with Brazil and other Global South countries at the United Nations, mobilizing greater efforts to secure a ceasefire and an ending of the conflict. China's objective and fair position has been widely recognized by the international community.

Kyiv should realize that China is a party it cannot ignore if it wants peace. It should refrain from making irresponsible remarks.

Notably, it was also at a regular news conference on July 28 — a day after Zelensky approved a new sanctions package, which included sanctions against 53 individuals and entities from China and other countries — that Guo urged the Ukrainian side to stop wrongly sanctioning Chinese entities, adding that China will firmly safeguard the legitimate and lawful rights and interests of Chinese companies.

Ukraine is in a better position than its allies and partners, which slap sanctions on entities of different countries, citing their "support" for Russia, despite knowing that such sanctions, which have no legitimacy according to international law, cannot help put an end to the crisis. Rather they tend to expand the conflict and hit the global industry and supply chains, affecting even those of the country that imposed the sanctions.

The reason why some Western countries resort to unilateral sanctions to resolve geopolitical tensions is because they have their own hidden agenda. Without directly involving themselves, they want to take advantage of the burning issues such as the Ukraine crisis to serve their own geopolitical games with other parties.

The United States is trying to contain China by imposing multiple baseless sanctions on Chinese entities in the high-tech, financial and trade sectors citing the Ukraine crisis.

In fact, the US even cited the Ukraine crisis to browbeat the European Union into making concessions in tariff talks, by threatening to stop military support, which is actually paid for primarily by the EU.

Ridiculously, even the EU has followed suit in imposing unilateral sanctions on Chinese entities over the Ukraine crisis, overlooking which party is the actual beneficiary and enabler of the crisis, and which party is trying to bring peace to Europe.

That's why China opposes unilateral sanctions, which have no basis in international law or the authorization of the United Nations Security Council, though the US, the EU and Ukraine continue to impose them.

After dealing with the US for so long, especially after the US-Ukraine mineral resource deal was signed, the Zelensky government should see clearly which parties truly stand for peace, and which parties just seek to maximize their own gains by prolonging the conflict while vying for the credit for peace if it comes in the future.

The White House said on Wednesday the US president could meet his Russian counterpart as early as next week to help broker an end to the Russia-Ukraine conflict. It is hoped such a meeting is a step in that direction.