European Union foreign policy chief Joseph Borrell said it would be hard for Europe to trust China if it did not try to find a political solution to the Ukraine crisis.
The comment was contained in a speech that Borrell had been due to deliver to a think tank in Beijing on Friday, but he had to cancel his trip to China after catching COVID-19 and the prepared remarks were published on the EU’s website.
“It will be extremely difficult, if not impossible, for the European Union to maintain a relationship of trust with China, which I would like to see, if China does not contribute to the search for a political solution based on Russia’s withdrawal from the Ukrainian territory,” Borrell said.
“Neutrality in the face of the violation of international law is not credible,” Borrell said, adding an appeal for Chinese President Xi Jinping to speak to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and for China to provide more humanitarian aid to the Ukrainian people.
Xi has met Russian President Vladimir Putin twice but not spoken with Zelensky since Russia invaded Ukraine in what Moscow calls a “special military operation” in February 2022.
China stated its opposition to attacks on civilians and on nuclear facilities in position paper on Ukraine published in February, but it has refrained from openly criticizing Russia for its actions in Ukraine.
Borrell: EU cannot trust China unless it seeks peace in Ukraine
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Borrell: EU cannot trust China unless it seeks peace in Ukraine
- ‘Neutrality in the face of the violation of international law is not credible’
India to provide $450 million to cyclone-ravaged Sri Lanka
COLOMBO: India has committed $450 million in humanitarian assistance to help Sri Lanka recover from the devastating damage caused by Cyclone Ditwah, foreign minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar said Tuesday on a visit to the country.
The cyclone killed more than 640 people when it swept across the South Asian island last month, causing floods and landslides that inflicted about $4 billion in damage, according to the World Bank, or 4 percent of the country’s GDP.
Sri Lankan President Anura Kumara Dissanayake has described the storm, which affected more than two million people, as the most challenging natural disaster in the island’s history.
Jaishankar, who is on a two-day visit, told a media briefing in Colombo he had handed a letter from Prime Minister Narendra Modi to Dissanayake, committing to a “reconstruction package of $450 million.”
While $350 million will take the form of “concessional lines of credit,” the remaining $100 million will be given as grants.
Jaishankar also noted the 1,100 tons of relief material, along with medicine and other necessary equipment, sent to India’s southern neighbor in the cyclone’s immediate aftermath.
“Given the scale of damage, restoring connectivity was clearly an immediate priority,” he said, detailing the Indian military’s assistance in providing portable bridges.
Jaishankar said India would also look at other ways to mitigate the losses, including encouraging Indian tourism to Sri Lanka.
“Similarly, an increase in foreign direct investment from India can boost your economy at a critical time,” he added.
The cyclone struck as Sri Lanka was emerging from its worst-ever economic meltdown in 2022, when it ran out of foreign exchange reserves to pay for essential imports such as food, fuel and medicines.
Following a $2.9 billion bailout from the International Monetary Fund approved in early 2023, the country’s economy has stabilized.
str-abh/cwl
