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US Official Says China Had Chance to Encourage Moscow to De-Escalate Ukraine Crisis

© AP Photo / Eraldo PeresRussia's President Vladimir Putin and China's President Xi Jinping walk after the family photo of leaders of the BRICS emerging economies at the Itamaraty palace in Brasilia, Brazil, Thursday, Nov. 14, 2019
Russia's President Vladimir Putin and China's President Xi Jinping walk after the family photo of leaders of the BRICS emerging economies at the Itamaraty palace in Brasilia, Brazil, Thursday, Nov. 14, 2019 - Sputnik International, 1920, 04.02.2022
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WASHINGTON, (Sputnik) - A US State Department official said the joint Russia-China statement announced earlier in the day reflects the approach both countries have taken for some time to work more closely together.
Senior US State Department official Daniel Kritenbrink said China had a chance to encourage Russia to de-escalate tensions regarding the situation with Ukraine and that is what the international community expects from responsible world powers.
"The meeting should have provided China the opportunity to encourage Russia to pursue diplomacy and de-escalation in Ukraine, that is what the world expects from responsible powers," Kritenbrink said on Friday with respect to the meeting between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping earlier in the day.
"I think it's fair to say the meeting between [Russian] President [Vladimir] Putin and [Chinese] President Xi [Jinping] and the joint Russia-China statement reflects an approach that both countries have already taken for some time, mainly to move closer together," State Department official Daniel Kritenbrink said during a telephone briefing on Friday.
In a joint statement earlier in the day, Russia and China said they oppose further enlargement of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) and called on the alliance to abandon its ideologically-charged Cold War approach.
The situation regarding Ukraine has worsened over the past several months after the United States and its allies accused Russia of a troop build-up near the border with Ukraine in preparations for an invasion. Moscow has denied the accusations, saying it reserves the right to move troops on Russia's sovereign territory as it sees fit. Russia has also said NATO's plan to expand further eastward and warned such a move is a threat to its national security.
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