US joins EU in rejecting Beijing’s peace proposal, sanctions more Chinese firms
- US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan says plan should have ended after first point: ‘respecting the sovereignty of all countries’
- US Secretary of State Antony Blinken tells UN Security Council not to be ‘fooled by calls for a temporary or unconditional ceasefire’
The US-China confrontation over Russia’s war on Ukraine ratcheted up on several fronts on Friday, the one-year anniversary of the invasion’s start, as Washington and its allies largely rejected a peace plan by Beijing and the US announced new sanctions on Chinese companies it charged were helping to fuel the conflict.
The debate over China’s peace proposal also carried over to a special meeting of the United Nations Security Council.
US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan dismissed the 12-point peace proposal China released earlier on Friday, telling CNN that Beijing should have ended it after the first point, which calls for “respecting the sovereignty of all countries”.
Among its other elements, the plan calls for a ceasefire, which would freeze Russian troops in place on Ukrainian territory, and for an immediate end to all sanctions not endorsed by the UN Security Council, where Russia holds veto power.
02:21
China releases 12-point position paper on 1-year anniversary of Russian invasion of Ukraine