The Chinese Foreign Ministry said on Wednesday that NATO is playing an old trick by accusing China of supplying weapons to Russia.
The remarks were made by the ministry's spokesperson Wang Wenbin at a regular press briefing in response to NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg's claim that the alliance is "increasingly concerned" that China may provide Russia with weapons to battle against Ukraine.
Regarding the Ukraine issue, Wang said China has always been on the side of peace, upholding an objective and impartial position and actively promoting peace talks.
It is well known that the U.S. and other NATO countries are the largest source of weaponry for the battlefield in Ukraine, while they have been falsely claiming that China is offering weapons, he said, adding that a similar trick was attempted and proven false at the beginning of the Russia-Ukraine conflict.
Wang said that NATO, on the one hand, claims to remain a regional defensive alliance, while on the other hand, constantly seeks to breach its geographic confines and expand its agenda, stoking division and tensions.
The role NATO has played in the Ukraine crisis is seen clearly by the international community, he said.
He urged NATO to stop groundlessly speculating and smearing China on the Ukraine issue, abandon the Cold War mentality of zero-sum games and bloc confrontation, stop provoking confrontation and fanning the flames, and do something concrete for peace and stability in the European region and the world.
