WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken spoke on Saturday with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi about “Moscow’s premeditated, unprovoked, and unjustified war against Ukraine,” a U.S. State Department spokesperson said.
“The Secretary noted the world is watching to see which nations stand up for the basic principles of freedom, self-determination and sovereignty,” spokesperson Ned Price said in a statement.
“He underscored that the world is acting in unison to repudiate and respond to the Russian aggression, ensuring that Moscow will pay a high price,” Price added.
Meanwhile, China’s foreign ministry also said that Wang spoke with Blinken on the phone.
According to a statement posted on its official website, Wang “encouraged the United States, NATO, the European Union and Russia to engage in dialogue on an equal footing, face up to the contradictions and problems accumulated over the years, and pay attention to the negative impact of NATO’s continuous eastward expansion on Russia’s security environment.”
(Reporting by Rami Ayyub; Editing by Daniel Wallis and Chizu Nomiyama)
