China is a 'decisive enabler' of Ukraine war, says NATO; didn't create crisis, claims Beijing

In a stern remark against the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation’s (NATO) Washington Summit Declaration, China warned the international alliance against “provoking confrontation” over its ties with Russia. On Wednesday, the defence bloc called Beijing a “decisive enabler” of Russia’s war in Ukraine.

Slamming Nato, China stated that the declaration is full of “belligerent rhetoric… lies, incitement and smears.”

“NATO should stop hyping up the so-called China threat and provoking confrontation and rivalry, and do more to contribute to world peace and stability,” a spokesperson for Beijing’s mission to the European Union said in a statement on Thursday.

“As we all know, China is not the creator of the crisis in Ukraine,” the Chinese official furthered. The spokesperson went on to insist that Beijing has always worked towards promoting peace talks between the two warring nations.

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“China’s core position on the Ukraine issue is to promote peace talks and political settlement, which has been widely recognised and appreciated by the international community,” said the spokesperson.

Nato’s declaration slams Russia but drags China as well 

In the final communique, approved by the 32 Nato members at the summit in Washington, the concerns over the growing ties between Russia and China took the top spot. In the statement which is touted as the most serious rebuke against Beijing from the alliance, concerns were also raised about Beijing’s growing nuclear arsenal and its capabilities in space.

As a permanent member of the United Nations Security Council, the declaration asked China to “cease all material and political support to Russia’s war effort.” The group also recognized the Indo-Pacific as “important for Nato”. However, it did not suggest a strong role for the group in this region.

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Meanwhile, China’s foreign ministry has expressed displeasure with Nato’s growing interest in Asia and demanded the international bloc to “stay out” of the Asia-Pacific region.

Nato’s final communique also accused China of being behind sustained, malicious cyber and hybrid activities, including disinformation.

“I think the message sent from Nato from this summit is very strong and very clear, and we are clearly defining China’s responsibility when it comes to enabling Russia’s war,” Nato secretary General, Jens Stoltenberg said while reacting to the declaration.

Tensions over Russia-China ties reached an all-time high after Chinese troops were seen conducting joint military drills in Belarus, earlier this week. Poland raised a warning over the matter and maintained that it is keeping a close eye on it.

“The defence ministry is well aware of the risk of the operations in question being used for disinformation and propaganda purposes,” Poland’s defence ministry told AFP on Wednesday. This was the first time Beijing held joint military drills with Belarus since the start of the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war.

With inputs from agencies.