U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken urged the international community to resist normalizing Russian President Vladimir Putin’s crimes in the ongoing war against Ukraine while also tacitly downplaying the Beijing regime’s proposal to end the conflict.
Speaking at the U.N. Security Council on Feb. 24—the anniversary of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine—Blinken stressed the need for member nations to uphold the basic principles of international order, including respecting the sovereignty and territorial integrity of other countries and not targeting civilians in war.
“Many countries will call for peace today,” he said, appearing to allude to China’s peace proposal released on Feb. 24. “History teaches us that it’s the nature of peace that matters.”
The proposal, originating from the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, lists 12 steps aimed at pulling the warring Eastern European nations back to the negotiating table and steering the globe away from nuclear brinkmanship. While vague, the suggested plan appears to back Ukraine’s claim to its occupied eastern regions.
“The sovereignty, independence, and territorial integrity of all countries must be effectively upheld,” point No. 1 of the proposal reads. “All countries, big or small, strong or weak, rich or poor, are equal members of the international community.”
In a possible message to the United States and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) alliance, the proposal advised countries to abandon the “Cold War mentality” and to not pursue “one’s own security at the cost of others’ security.”
The Chinese Communist Party has long criticized NATO expansion, having issued a joint statement with Russia weeks before the war that opposed the “further enlargement of NATO” and likened it to an outdated Cold War ideology.
