Senior Chinese diplomat calls for calm in Ukraine

FILE PHOTO: China’s State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi waves as he leaves a news conference in Tokyo, Japan, November 24, 2020. REUTERS/Issei Kato/Pool/File Photo

BEIJING — China’s Foreign Minister Wang Yi said on Thursday that all parties involved in the Ukraine issue should remain calm and refrain from actions that stir tension and hype up the crisis, as he held talks with U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken.

Russia has demanded that NATO pull back troops and weapons from eastern Europe and bar its neighbor Ukraine, a former Soviet state, from ever joining.

Washington and its NATO allies reject that position, but say they are ready to discuss topics such as arms control and confidence-building measures.

One country’s security cannot be at the expense of the security of other countries, and regional security cannot be guaranteed by strengthening or even expanding military blocs, Wang told Blinken by telephone.