China Opposes Unilateral Sanctions, Hopes Russia, US To Resolve Dispute - Foreign Ministry

China Opposes Unilateral Sanctions, Hopes Russia, US to Resolve Dispute - Foreign Ministry

China opposes the imposition of unilateral sanctions in international relations and hopes that Moscow and Washington will manage to settle the existing differences properly, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said at a briefing on Wednesday, commenting on the new round of the US sanctions against Russia.

BEIJING (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 29th August, 2018) China opposes the imposition of unilateral sanctions in international relations and hopes that Moscow and Washington will manage to settle the existing differences properly, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said at a briefing on Wednesday, commenting on the new round of the US sanctions against Russia.

The first package of new US sanctions against Moscow in connection to the poisoning of former Russian spy Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia in the United Kingdom, including, in particular, a ban on supplies of dual-purpose electronic devices and components to Russia, took effect on Monday.

"China always opposes the imposition of unilateral sanctions and threats to impose unilateral sanctions in international relations, we believe that it hardly contributes to problems resolution," Hua said.

She stressed that both Russia and the United States were permanent members of the UN Security Council and, therefore, were responsible for maintaining global peace, stability and security.

"We hope that on the basis of equality and mutual respect, the two parties will abide by the norms of international law and will manage to resolve their dispute through a dialogue," Hua emphasized.

On August 8, the US administration announced new sanctions against Russia, consisting of two packages, due to its alleged use of chemical weapons in the poisoning of the Skripals in the UK city of Salisbury in March. According to media reports, the second round of sanctions, which might be imposed in November, might include scaling back diplomatic relations between the two countries, suspending flights of Russian airline Aeroflot to the United States and almost complete cessation of US exports to the country. According to the US State Department, Russia could avoid the second round of sanctions by assuring it would not use chemical weapons in the future.

Russia has repeatedly denied involvement in the Skripals case, stressing that London has neither provided evidence nor cooperated with Moscow in investigating the incident.