Russia, China denounce ‘unacceptable’ unilateral sanctions bypassing UN

Russia and China have censured as ‘unacceptable’ the unilateral sanctions imposed in circumvention of the United Nations.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi supported the idea of ​​the unacceptability of unilateral sanctions bypassing the UN at a meeting on the progress of Russia’s special military operation in Ukraine on the sidelines of a G20 foreign ministers’ summit in the resort island of Bali in Indonesia on Thursday, Russia’s foreign ministry said in a statement.

“Special attention was paid to the situation in and around Ukraine. Lavrov briefed his Chinese counterpart on the implementation of the main goals of the Russian Armed Forces’ special military operation aimed at protecting civilians in Donbass, demilitarizing and denazifying Ukraine. The top diplomats exchanged views on the West’s activities with regard to the Ukraine issue,” the statement read.

Both Lavrov and Wang “pointed out that introducing unilateral sanctions in circumvention of the UN was unacceptable,” the ministry added.

The summit began on Thursday and will continue through Friday.

Since the onset of Russia’s “special military operation” in Ukraine on February 24, the US and its European allies have not only unleashed a raging flood of advanced weapons into the ex-Soviet country to help its military fend off Russian forces but also imposed waves of unprecedented sanctions against Moscow, attempting to ultimately make Russia a pariah nation.

The Kremlin has warned that the unprecedented sanctions against Russia, plus the flow of arms into Ukraine, would only prolong the ongoing war.

During the meeting, Lavrov and Wang also assessed the state of relations between their respective countries and stressed that the two nations would continue to boost strategic interaction.

The Russian and Chinese foreign ministers “emphasized that Russia and China continued to strengthen strategic interaction amid a difficult geopolitical situation, taking the same or similar positions on the vast majority of issues under discussion. They confirmed their readiness to continue deepening foreign policy coordination,” the statement further said.

Last month, Russian President Vladimir Putin said no Iron Curtain would fall over Russia's economy despite the West’s sanctions over his military operation in Ukraine because his country would not detach itself from the world like the Soviet Union did.

SS