By Nora Buli
OSLO (Reuters) – NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg on Friday called on China to stop supporting Russia’s war in Ukraine and said Beijing’s assistance had been a major factor in the continuation of the war.
“China has become a decisive partner in Russia’s war against Ukraine,” Stoltenberg told reporters in Oslo. “It is thanks to China that Russia produces a large part of the weapons it uses.”
Stoltenberg warned that Beijing’s continued incitement to fuel the war in Ukraine could have a negative impact on its interests and reputation.
“I call on China to stop supporting Russia’s illegal war,” he said.
China has previously called similar statements made by NATO “malicious” and biased.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said in July that he did not want China, which has a “limitless” partnership with Russia, to act as a mediator, but hoped Beijing would put more pressure on Moscow to end the war.
(Reporting by Nora Buli, writing by Stine Jacobsen, editing by Terje Solsvik and Christina Fincher)
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