China could be useful at Peace Summit, but it is helping Russia – US State Department spokesman

Commenting on China's refusal to participate in the Peace Summit, Matthew Miller, Spokesperson for the US Department of State, has said that the US does not see how China can play a positive role in ending the war, as it is helping Russia restore its defence industry.

Source: Holos Ameryky (Voice of America) with reference to Miller’s briefing

Quote: "We have always been clear that China could play a useful diplomatic role in helping resolve this conflict if it wanted to. But that said, right now it’s hard to see how they could play that role given the actions that we’ve seen China take over recent months to rebuild, reconstitute Russia’s defence industrial base. So we are going to continue to make clear to China that we object to those actions, that we will hold entities responsible for those actions, and we’ve heard our Russian – sorry, our European counterparts say the same thing."

Details: Commenting on the Peace Summit, Miller once again stressed that the US supported Ukraine's diplomatic efforts and expected the event to be successful. "We support the peace summit. We want it to be successful, and that’s why you see the Vice President of the United States attending that summit. We support Ukraine’s diplomatic efforts," he said.

When asked whether US Secretary of State Antony Blinken was also planning to attend the summit, Miller said he did not have any information on that yet. "I don’t have any scheduling announcements to make with that peace summit. I – you heard the Secretary say a number of times over the past few weeks, you heard us say that we would be well represented at that summit," he added. 

Background:

• On Friday, the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs said that the Global Peace Summit in Switzerland did not meet all the criteria set by Beijing for such events, which is why it was "unlikely" to be represented there.
• It is known that China has close ties with Russia and refrains from criticising its invasion of Ukraine. Western governments have repeatedly accused the Chinese government of providing Russia with assistance for the war. Meanwhile, Beijing has offered its assistance in a peaceful settlement.
• Zelenskyy has recently called on leaders, including China and the United States, to attend the event.
• Beijing responded to accusations made by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy that Russia and China were trying to weaken the planned Global Peace Summit. Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning, answering a question about the upcoming Peace Summit in Switzerland in mid-June, said that Beijing has never "fanned fire or fuelled the flames" of the Russo-Ukrainian war.

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