MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 06th February, 2023) Moscow is convinced that Beijing is pursuing a responsible line in the situation with the Chinese balloon incident, but it is not known how the United States will behave in this regard, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov said on Monday.
Last week, the Pentagon announced the detection of an alleged surveillance balloon from China over the US state of Montana. Beijing stressed that the balloon was a civilian airship engaged in scientific research, mainly meteorological studies, and expressed regret over its unintended entry into US airspace. US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin later said that a US fighter aircraft successfully brought down the balloon in US territorial waters off the coast of South Carolina. Beijing protested the action.
"I am sure that our Chinese colleagues are pursuing the most responsible line and ... are always for dialogue and exchange of views. How the US will behave is an open question," Ryabkov told reporters.
