China has offered support for Russia in the face of its stand-off with the US and Nato over Ukraine, saying Moscow had “reasonable security concerns” that Washington and its allies should take “seriously”.
Wang Yi, the Chinese foreign minister, told Antony Blinken, US secretary of state, that European regional security could not be guaranteed by “strengthening or even expanding military blocs”, in comments that appeared to back Russian opposition to Ukraine joining Nato in the future.
Speaking on Thursday on a videoconference call with Blinken, Wang urged all parties to “abandon the cold war mentality” and called for “balanced” negotiations to resolve tensions over Ukraine, according to a Chinese foreign ministry statement.