China warns NATO against ‘provoking confrontation’ over Russia ties

BEIJING, July 11 (Agencies): China warned NATO on Thursday against "provoking confrontation" over its ties with Russia, after the alliance accused Beijing of playing a key role in helping Moscow's assault on Ukraine.

NATO leaders said in a declaration at their summit in Washington on Wednesday that China had "become a decisive enabler of Russia's war against Ukraine".

It said Beijing's "so-called 'no limits' partnership" and "large-scale support for Russia's defence industrial base" were of "profound concern".

In response, a spokesperson for Beijing's mission to the European Union said: "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."

"It is known to all that China is not the creator (of) the Ukraine crisis. China's position on Ukraine is open and aboveboard," they added.

China has refused to condemn Russia's invasion and last year released a paper calling for a "political settlement" to the conflict, which Western countries said could enable Russia to retain much of the territory it has seized in Ukraine.

China and Russia's strategic partnership has grown closer since the invasion.

Beijing presents itself as a neutral party in the war and says it is not sending lethal assistance to either side, unlike the United States and other Western nations.

It has however offered a critical lifeline to Russia's isolated economy, with trade booming since the conflict began.

But that economic partnership has come under close scrutiny from the West in recent months, with Washington vowing to go after financial institutions that facilitate Moscow's war effort.

The United States and Europe have also accused Beijing of selling components and equipment necessary to keep Moscow's military production afloat.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in April this included "machine tools, semiconductors, other dual-use items that have helped Russia rebuild the defence industrial base that sanctions and export controls had done so much to degrade".

Beijing has denied claims it is aiding Russia's fighting in Ukraine and insisted it won't accept "criticism or pressure" over its ties with Moscow.

And on Thursday, its foreign ministry accused the alliance of "prejudice, smearing and provocation".

"NATO's rhetoric about China's responsibility in Ukraine is unjustified and malicious," spokesman Lin Jian said.

"We urge NATO to reflect on the root causes of the crisis and its own actions, listen carefully to the just voice of the international community, and take concrete actions to ease the situation, instead of shifting the blame to others."

Meanwhile, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban has pressed on with his shuttle diplomacy to achieve a ceasefire in Ukraine, visiting Beijing on Monday after passing through Kyiv and Moscow.

Ukrainian allies NATO and the European Union disavowed the mission, saying Orban was not undertaking an initiative on their behalf. Russia, after initially dismissing Orban's effort, said it could prove "very valuable". "He has shown his political will for dialogue. We take it very, very positively. We believe it can be very useful," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Monday.

That marked a change from his initial assessment.

Earlier, NATO allies on Wednesday announced they had started transferring F-16 jets to Ukraine while stepping up promises to Kyiv on eventual membership in the alliance, at a 75th anniversary summit clouded by political uncertainties in the United States.

With the pomp of the three-day gathering in the US capital, President Joe Biden is aiming to rally the West and also reassure voters amid pre-election scrutiny of whether at 81 -- six years older than NATO itself-he remains fit for the job.

Biden individually welcomed the other 31 leaders of the alliance before urging them to keep pace with Russia's military production, which has stepped up sharply in the two years since President Vladimir Putin invaded Ukraine.

"We can-and will-defend every inch of NATO territory and we'll do it together," Biden told the North Atlantic Council, the formal decision-making body of the alliance, at Washington's convention centre as the city sweltered under a heat wave.

Biden announced that Denmark and the Netherlands had begun sending US-made F-16 jets to Ukraine-making good on a key promise last year to Kyiv, which has struggled to gain parity in the air with Russia.

He earlier announced new air defence systems for Ukraine and said the United States had agreed to place long-range missiles periodically in Germany.

In the evening Biden hosted the NATO leaders for a gala dinner, marked by storm clouds that forced the cancellation of a planned flypast.

Biden compared the alliance to his childhood neighborhood, saying: "When a neighbor needed help, you pitched in. When the bullies threatened the block, you stepped up."

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said the F-16 transfer "concentrates Vladimir Putin's mind on the fact that he will not outlast Ukraine, he will not outlast us."

Erdogan voices worries

of NATO, Russia clash

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Thursday that any possibility of a direct confrontation between Russia and NATO was "worrying", the official Anadolu news agency reported.

Erdogan's comments came as NATO leaders huddled in Washington and Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that Russia was planning "response measures" to contain the "very serious threat" from the alliance.

"The possibility of a direct conflict between NATO and Russia is undoubtedly worrying," said Erdogan, who is in Washington for a NATO summit. "Any steps that could lead to this outcome should be consciously avoided."

Erdogan spoke a day after NATO allies announced they had started transferring F-16 jets to Ukraine while stepping up promises to Kyiv on eventual membership in the alliance, at a 75th anniversary summit clouded by political uncertainties in the United States.

On the eve of the summit, Russia fired a barrage of missiles on Ukraine, killing dozens, including in Kyiv where a children's hospital was heavily damaged

Peskov, in comments published by Russian news agencies also said the Western military alliance, which is holding a summit in Washington this week, was now "fully involved in the conflict over Ukraine".