Russia's position on a united China remains unchanged, and Moscow expects and hopes that there will be no provocations with respect to the Taiwan question, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov has indicated.
"We have no problems with the principle of upholding China's sovereignty, and proceed from the fact that no provocations that could aggravate the situation will be undertaken," Lavrov said, speaking to reporters in Tashkent, Uzbekistan during the Shanghai Cooperation Organization summit on Friday.
The Russian top diplomat indicated that he and Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi did not discuss the situation around Taiwan during their talks on the sidelines of the summit, but stressed that Russia's stance on the matter "is absolutely clear."
"Our position on the existence of only one China remains unchanged," Lavrov stressed. He added that the US, at least formally, claims to adhere to the same position. "But in practice, as you understand, their deeds do not always match their words."
Also on Friday, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov emphasized that China's territorial integrity should not be questioned by any nation, and warned that the ramping up of tensions around Taiwan have only a destructive effect. The world is already overstrained by various conflicts, Peskov said.
Russia does not maintain diplomatic relations with Taiwan, and has supported the People's Republic's position on the island since the end of the Chinese Civil War in the late 1940s. At the United Nations, the USSR consistently demanded that the permanent Security Council seat occupied by Taiwan be handed over to the People's Republic, with China finally receiving the seat in 1971 as the United States moved to establish relations with the PRC.
In early February, in a joint communique between Russia and China on international issues, Moscow reaffirmed its support for the One-China principle, confirmed its position that Taiwan is an inalienable part of China, and expressed opposition to any attempts to encourage Taiwanese "independence."
Tensions between China and the United States spiked dramatically over the one-and-a-half years that Joe Biden has been president. Biden has repeatedly referred to Taiwan as a key ally and vowed to defend the island in case of a Chinese "invasion." His sentiments are a break with the long-held principle of strategic ambiguity in relation to the island held by his predecessors, and Beijing has repeatedly slammed the White House over the president's provocative remarks.
Beijing considers Taiwan an inalienable part of China destined for eventual peaceful reunification with the mainland under the 'One Country - Two Systems' principle applied to Hong Kong and Macau.
Tensions over Taiwan began to escalate earlier this month after media reported that Nancy Pelosi, speaker of the House and formally the third-most powerful official in Washington after the president and vice president, would visit Taiwan as part of an upcoming tour of Asia. If the trip takes place, Pelosi will be the highest-ranking US official to travel to the island since House Speaker Newt Gingrich did so in 1997.
Beijing has called on Washington to stick to the principles underpinning China-US relations, which includes a commitment by the US to avoid any formal diplomatic contacts with Taipei, and to pressure Pelosi into cancelling the visit.
On Thursday, Chinese media reported that President Xi had warned Biden that "one who plays with fire will certainly burn himself" amid the latest escalation over Taiwan. "We strongly oppose separatism and 'Taiwan independence' as well as interference from external forces," Xi said, according to China Central Television.
Also Thursday, the White House announced that the president has "underscored that the United States' policy has not changed and that the United States strongly opposes unilateral efforts to change the status quo or undermine peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait."
On Friday, the People's Liberation Army kicked off a two-day naval exercise in the South China Sea. The exercises were launched shortly after NBC News reported that Pelosi and a group of lawmakers would kick off a tour of Asia on Friday, visiting Japan, South Korea, Malaysia and Singapore. A visit to Taiwan is also "under consideration," according to the outlet's sources.