The Deputy Secretary-General of the European External Action Service (EEAS), Enrique Mora, met the Chinese Government’s Special Envoy for Eurasian Affairs, Li Hui, in Brussels on Thursday 25 May, as part of China’s recent engagement with Ukraine.
Mr Mora welcomed Mr Hui’s visit to Europe, and to Kyiv in particular, “although it comes more than one year after the start of the illegal Russian aggression”, the EEAS said in a statement.
“Deputy Secretary-General Mora stressed Russia’s full responsibility for the unprovoked and unjustified aggression against Ukraine, which poses a major challenge to regional and global stability, security and prosperity. He highlighted that Ukraine was exercising its right to self-defence and that the European Union was committed to supporting Ukraine in the long term”, the press release continued.
The EEAS emphasised that the EU expects China, as a permanent member of the UN Security Council, to uphold the UN Charter and international law, as well as respect for the principles of sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity, and the immediate and unconditional withdrawal of all military forces and equipment from all Ukrainian territory.
Analysing the situation on Twitter, Moritz Rudolf, a legal researcher and member of the Paul Tsai China Center at Yale Law School, said that it was important for the Europeans to deliver a harmonised message to Mr Hui.
“This is a valuable step for Europe, as it will probably be recognised by Beijing. Delivering a consistent message to China (through the EU and its Member States) has always been a key challenge for European policy towards China.”
The two parties said they would remain in contact and continue to work towards lasting peace in Ukraine. (Original version in French by Pauline Denys)