His visit Chinese President Xi Jinping in Russia this week, after an arrest warrant was issued against him Russian President Vladimir Putin issued by the International Criminal Court suggests China does not think the Kremlin should be held accountable for atrocities it allegedly committed in Ukraine, US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken said today.

As Putin welcomed Xi to the Kremlin, Blinken, speaking during a briefing with reporters, said “the world (shouldn’t) be fooled” by Beijing’s proposals to settle the conflict in Ukraine.

“The world should not be fooled by any tactical decision by Russia, with the support of China or any other country, to freeze the conflict on its own terms,” ​​the head of US diplomacy said.

The US appreciates any diplomatic initiative for “a just and lasting peace,” but doubts China’s willingness to preserve Ukraine’s “sovereignty and territorial integrity,” he added.

“Any plan that does not prioritize this fundamental principle represents, at best, a stalling tactic or simply seeks to facilitate an unfair outcome” in the war, he said, adding: “This is not constructive diplomacy.”

The US Secretary of State also pointed out that the Chinese leadership’s calls for a truce, which do not imply the withdrawal of Russian troops from the occupied Ukrainian territories, in fact support the Kremlin’s territorial claims.

At the same time, Blinken underlined that such a truce would only serve Russia.

“If China is determined to support an end to the war based on the principles of the United Nations Charter — as stated in the first point of its plan — then it can engage in dialogue with President Zelensky and Ukraine on that basis and to use its influence to demand that Moscow withdraw its troops,” he said.