China has warned the US against any moves that “add fuel to the flames” in Ukraine as Russia continued its attack for the 11th day.
The country’s foreign minister Wang Yi has urged negotiations to resolve the immediate crisis and called on the West to take account of Moscow’s concerns about NATO expansion.
But in response, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said the world is watching to see which nations stand up for the principles of freedom and sovereignty in the face of Kremlin aggression.
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The exchange came in a phone call between the pair on Saturday.
China has broken with the US, Europe and other nations that have imposed sanctions on Russia after its invasion of Ukraine.
Beijing says while the sovereignty and territorial integrity of all nations should be respected, sanctions create new issues and disrupt the process of political settlement.
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Meanwhile, US President Joe Biden called Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to discuss ongoing efforts to impose economic costs on Russia and to speed-up US military, humanitarian and economic assistance to Ukraine.
The White House said the pair also discussed talks between Russia and Ukraine during the more than 30-minute call early on Sunday in Ukraine, but provided no additional details.
Mr Zelenskyy said on Twitter the two presidents discussed security, financial support for Ukraine and the continuation of sanctions against Russia.
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Earlier, he thanked SpaceX chief executive Elon Musk for giving Ukraine access to his company’s satellite-internet system, Starlink.
“I’m grateful to him for supporting Ukraine with words and deeds,” Mr Zelensky said in a tweet.
“Next week we will receive another batch of Starlink systems for destroyed cities.”
He joked that they discussed possible space projects, which he would talk about “after the war”.
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Kyiv mayor Vitali Klitschko on Saturday showed off a shipment of the Starlink systems that had arrived in the capital city.
He said Starlink would help secure the work of critical infrastructure and the defence of the city.
But several large Ukrainian cities remained without internet or phone connection after being shelled by Russian troops.
